Battleground
by Will the Golem
Summary: Mizuho and Kei are drawn into a battle between an alien and another human. Please Read and Review!
1. Prologue: Lone Man on the Tracks

Disclaimer:

Please Teacher is not my property. It belongs to Bandai or Please.

("I") Denotes dialogue

(_"I"_) Denotes thought

* * *

The moon shone down over the railroad tracks. Heavy footsteps could be heard as a lone figure walked next to the tracks. He was a tall man, somewhere around 6'3, with brown hair and eyes and a powerful build, but his legs looked the most powerful thing on his body. It was decently warm, so he didn't wear a jacket, but rather a fully unbuttoned navy blue shirt with a white t-shirt underneath. He wore very baggy tan cargo pants and heavy shoes. His left hand was fully taped like a fist fighter would have it while his right hand swung by his side. A pair of sunglasses rested in his shirt pocket and a koru necklace hung from his neck. He carried himself straight up with a powerful stride and smiled as he looked up at the sky.

_What a night. Been walking for a while now..._ He looked at his surrondings: grassy plains with a forest outlying them. _But there's been good scenery! So, there's not much to complain about. Hope there's a town around so I can get a room..._ He kept walking and swung his backpack in front of him, and yanked out a rice ball. He swung his backpack over his shoulders again and bit into his snack. He chewed a bit and then grinned.

"That's good food." He swallowed his first bite and was about to take another when he paused. The wind had suddenly picked up. He raised his eyebrow and lowered his rice ball. He stopped walking and looked around as the wind made waves in the grass.

He didn't see anything, so he shrugged and continued walking. Then he heard a distant whooshing. Thinking to be the wind, he didn't think much of it and bit into his snack again. This time, something flew overhead that made a lot of noise, like an aircraft of some sort. He looked up and didn't see anything. Then he noticed something falling from the sky. It was pretty small, and it made a soft thud in the plains. He raised his eyebrow a little. He looked at his snack, then looked at the plains, then the snack again. He shoved the rest of the rice ball into his mouth and chewed as he started to fight his way through the tall grass. He tripped a bit but kept going into the plains. He finally made it to the area where he saw the object fall. He searched around, took a step and then fell flat on his face. "Found it..."

He kicked his legs and was up in an instant. He then bent down and looked at what he tripped over. It was a metal disk about the size of a soccer ball. The disk looked like it was a machinery part. The man looked up, searching the sky for anything. He looked over the disk again, then he swung his backpack over, put the disk in, and swung the backpack over his shoulders again.

"Huh...that was odd..." He made his way over to the tracks again and resumed walking. Then he saw a light a few feet away. It looked like something was phasing in. After a few seconds, a women in a jumpsuit was standing in front of him. She was slightly tall, slender, and had purple hair.

"Okay...this is odd." The woman opened her eyes as he spoke. "Give it back." The man raised an eyebrow. "What?" "I want it back." "You're going to have be a little more specific than that, miss." She drew a glowing baton and brandished it threateningly. "I'm gonna beat you down if you don't give me what I want." The man just smiled. "And what do you want? An ass kicking? 'Cause you're about to be on the recieving end of one if you don't put the toy down and just talk to me." The woman frowned.

"You'd better show some respect, human. I'm Melani Serrac, a monitor of this sector. I've got no problem taking a speciman like you to some of mysuperiors on Mars. Give me back the piece to my ship and I'll leave, and we'll never speak of this again." The man shrugged. "Well, I can see we have a bit of an alien nazi here. Fine, you can have your precious frisbee back. I really don't care." He pulled the disc out of his backpack and handed it to the woman. The woman grabbed the disc, looked it over and then looked at the man. "Thank you. Now you're coming with me!"

She dropped the disc and swung at the man with the baton. The man swung out of the way, and the woman completely missed her attack. As he evaded the attack, he swung his leg and hit the woman in the abdomen, sending her flying back. She flew for a few feet and then landed with a thud in the grass, letting go of her baton in mid-air. The man picked up the baton and the disc and then shoved them into his backpack.

"Well, not only are you a nazi, you can't keep your word? I wonder if you have any honor at all. Oh well. Better luck next time!"

His feet buckled the ground, his hands cut the wind to ribbons, and he was gone.

Melani rolled over and held her abdomen as she groaned. "What a hit...He's fast and strong. Who is that man?" She stood up, still holding her abdomen. "Marsha, take me to my bridge. And find the machinery part, priority one. Without that, we're not going to make it out of the atmosphere." Melani faded out of existance.

* * *

The man was breathing a little heavy. "Well, when in doubt...eh...oh well. Can't finish that sentence. Wha...?" Another light appeared next to him. He leapt and cleared a row of trees and landed with a soft thud on the other side. Melani phased into view again. She looked around and growled. "Are you sure you gave me the right coordinates?" She groaned again and rubbed her abdomen. "That worthless being is going to pay for this. Marsha! Take me back to the bridge. Conceal the ship too. We can't risk exposing ourselves." Melani was gone a few seconds later. The man smiled and shook his head.

"Intelligent life-forms. Pah..." He stood up and started to walk down the streets.

_Lake Hima, huh? Sounds like fun to me!_

He eventaully made it to a small hotel. He strode in and leaned on the desk, looking at the receptionist. "I'd like a room for the night, please. The recptionist yawned and reached for the keys to a room. "Name?" The man smiled.

"Moshi."


	2. Chapter 1: Midnight Smack

Disclaimer:

Please Teacher does not belong to me, and I did not create any of the characters. Except Moshi.

("I") Denotes dialogue

(_"I"_) Denotes thought

* * *

Chapter 1: Midnight Smack

* * *

Kei rolled over in bed and stretched a bit. He looked over and smiled at Mizuho.

She looks so beautiful when she's asleep... He looked up at the ceiling. It's unbeleivable that I've been with my teacher for the past year. We've gone so strong together. We're never stopping. It feels incredible.

Kei sat up and stretched again. The weekend feels great, and with nothing going on, I can spend time with Mizuho. He leaned in and gave Mizuho a kiss on the lips. She smiled and opened her eyes. "Morning Kei..." "Good morning, Mizuho." Kei stood up. "What does the day look like today?" "Don't know. We could go downtown. I hear there's a bazaar today." Kei nodded. "Sounds good. It looks like a good day to go walking out downtown." Mizuho smiled, and Kei smiled back at her. She blushed a bit as Kei looked at her.

The two shared another kiss before they walked to the bathroom to get ready for the day to come.

* * *

The downtown area was thriving with business as throngs of people moved from shop stall to shop stall, looking at the different wares. Kei and Mizuho walked down to the side, holding hands. They dragged each other into stalls to take a look at some things the other liked. After a few minutes, they would put the things back down and head back to look at the rest of the bazaar.

"Kei, can I ask you a question?" "Sure ma'am." "What brings so many people together like this?" Kei smiled and looked at the many people and stalls that lined the street.

"I guess one way to put it is that one man's trash is another's treasure. Some of these stalls are opportunities for someone to sell something that they don't need anymore. Another thing is that some people are constantly trying to make something everyone likes, such as hand-made statues, blown pottery, and homemade clothing, like mittens or a scarf." Mizuho smiled. "I guess that makes sense." "It's also a great place to meet people. You might bump into someone you'd ever expect." "Like who?" Kei bolted upright in an instant. "Koishi!"

The two released each other's hands immediatly. Koishi and Ichigo were a ways down the bazaar. "What should we do? There are rumors still going around that the two of us are together. We can't let them find out!" Mizuho nodded. Koishi looked over and saw Kei, and her eyes lit up. "Oh no, she saw me!" "I'll head back home. You catch up with me later." "I understand, ma'am." the two smiled at each other before she ran back up the street and around the corner.

Kei looked back and saw Koishi and Ichigo in front of him.

"Hey Kei." they said together. "H-hi, Koishi. Hi Ichigo." "What are you doing here all by yourself, Kei?" Ichigo said. "Well, I just thought a walk would be good for me, you know?" He laughed and scratched the back of his head.

"Are you alone? I thought I saw someone with you." Koishi said as she looked Keitaro over a bit. "N-no. My aunt and uncle are back home." "Oh. All right." Ichigo spoke up. "You wanna walk with us? There a couple of shopw we want to check out." "Sounds good to me."

* * *

It had been a few hours since Kei met up with Koishi and Ichigo. It was getting close to sunset.

"How often does something like this happen?" said Koishi. "Looks like once a month." Ichigo responded. "We should do this again, Kei. I had fun." "Heh. Umm...maybe so." Koishi seemed a little taken aback. Ichigo smiled. "Don't worry, Koishi. It's a while until next month."

Koishi looked like she was going to say something before Ichigo pointed ahead. "What's that?" Koishi and Kei looked ahead to see a large cluster of people standing around a large piece of cardboard. Music and applauding could be heard. The three approached and peeked over the backs of the other onlookers. In the middle of the circle was a man breakdancing.

He did a combo of moves in quick succesion with such fluidity that it made the crowd scream. Koishi started moving to the music and whooping at the breakdancer. Ichigo started smiling as she saw the breakdancer flip and roll on the cardboard. Kei just watched and smiled. "That's pretty cool."

After a few minutes, the sun started to set and the music ended. The people applauded the breakdancer as they started to leave. The breakdancer smiled, bowed, and then did a back-flip. Kei, Koishi, and Ichigo began to walk back home.

"You don't see that everyday." Koishi said. "It was an interesting display of skill." As Kei was about to say something, he was knocked flat as he bumped into someone who was coming around the corner. Kei fall to the ground and groaned a bit as he rubbed his butt. Koishi and Ichigo leaned down to him. "Oh no! Are you all right, Kei?" Kei just nodded. "Y-yea...I'm okay."

"Whoa...sorry about that buddy. You all right?" Kei just smiled and laughed a bit as he waved his hand. "Oh man. Sorry again. That happens too often." The man grabbed Kei's outstretched hand. Kei then felt himself hoisted to his feet. "My humblest apologies again, bud." Kei just shook his head. "Oh, don't worry about it. Mistakes happen." Kei looked up and smiled at the man. Koishi's eyes widened. "Wait a minute! You're that breakdancer that was in the middle of the bazaar!" The man smiled and looked at Koishi.

"That would be correct! Name's Moshi." he bowed down. "I'm Koishi Herikawa, that's Kei Kusanagi, and this is Ichigo Morino." Moshi nodded. "A pleasure to meet you all. How would you like to join me for a bit of a snack?" Koishi smiled. "I think that would be nice." Ichigo nodded. "I have no objections."

Moshi looked over at Kei. "How about you, Kei? Wanna join us?" Kei thought for a moment. "Sure. I think that would be all right. As long as I get back home before it's too late." Moshi nodded. "Fair enough. Let's get some munchies!"

* * *

A few empty bowls set on the table near Moshi. He let out a sigh of delight. "They don't have curry like this back home!"

Koishi and Kei had a small bowl in front of them, while Ichigo had a larger bowl near the size of those next to Moshi. "That's quite a snack." said Koishi as she looked at the empty bowls. "And by your previous statement I'm assuming you're not from around here. As in, not from this country."

Moshi looked over at Ichigo and then smiled. "You're a sharp one. You'd be correct in your assumption. I'm from the United States." Kei looked over at Moshi. "Really? What brings you to Lake Hima?" Moshi shrugged and leaned back in his chair. "Just passing through, seeing what can be seen."

"So you're just walking around?" asked Kei. "No. I've got somewhere to go, I just thought I'd take the scenic route rather than fly there." Kei smiled. "That's interesting, Moshi. I haven't heard of anyone who's done that." Moshi smiled. "Well, I like to enjoy life to the fullest. No use in hurrying if you've got nothing to hurry for."

He stretched and looked at his watch. "Whoa! We best bet be getting you guys home." Kei nodded. "I agree. I should be getting home." All of them stood up. Moshi dropped some money on the table, nodded at the waiter and walked out with Ichigo, Koishi, and Kei.

They stepped outside. By this time, the stars were shining bright and the moon was in full view. "Well, I guess we'll see you later, Kei." said Ichigo. Koishi nodded and smiled. Ichigo looked at Moshi as he stood tall. "And it was nice meeting you, Moshi." Moshii smiled and bowed his head. "Likewise, girls. Have a nice night." Ichigo and Koishi turned and started walking.

Kei looked at Moshi. "So, what are you gonna do?" Moshi turned around. "Well, if it's all the same, I'd like to walk with you for a while. Want to make sure you get home safe." Kei frowned. "Why did you let the girls go on their own then?" "I figured that they lived closer to where we were than you did. Besides, it's the least I can do for knocking you over."

Kei nodded and smiled again. "All right. Let's go."

* * *

Kei and Moshi were walking down the road to his house, with grassy plains on all sides. Kei looked Moshi over a bit. "Hey Moshi, can I ask you a question?" "Talk to me." "Uh...why do you have your hand taped?"

Moshi smiled and chuckled a bit. "When I started breakdancing, I messed up my hand. Nothing big or lethal or anything. It's just that ever since then, I've worn the tape as a bit of protection." Kei felt a little bad for asking. "S-sorry. I didn't mean to offend you." Moshi looked at Kei. "What are you talking about? I'm proud of many of my injuries. They're a sign of accomplishment for me. You know what I mean? But you don't offend me by asking that, Kei. And you don't seem like the type of guy that would hurt someone on purpose."

He raised his left hand and pointed at it with his other. "I've had plenty worse than messing up my hand." He then patted Kei on the back. "You're all right, Kei. It's always nice to meet good people in my travels."

Kei smiled at Moshi and Moshi smiled back. Moshi looked up at the sky. "Isn't that cool?" Kei looked at Moshi. "What's that?" Moshi pointed up. "The stars." Kei looked up. Moshi brandished his hands towards the stars as he spoke. "They're like, planetary sprinkles, ya know?" Kei laughed. "I guess you could look at it like that."

Moshi smiled. "You know what's really cool about the stars?" Kei looked at the stars again. "What's that?" "No matter where I'm at, no matter where I sleep, no matter where I eat, they're all the same." Moshi shrugged. "Granted, they may look different. But that doesn't mean they aren't the same thing, ya know?"

Moshi looked back down at the ground. "Sometimes it's the only thing that I have left when I travel."

Kei smiled. "Do you get lonely when you travel?" Moshi shook his head. "Not a chance in hell. I've traveled so much that 'loneliness' is no longer in my dictionary. I just look at the stars and they remind me of things that happened and of friends I made over the trip."

"It must be different for different people." said Kei. Moshi nodded. He was about to speak when he saw a light in front of him. He pushed Kei into the grass. Kei looked at Moshi, puzzled. "Keep down!" said Moshi. Kei ducked down in response.

Melani phased into existance, with her ship's program next to her.

"Well, if it isn't Madam Serrac. What a nice surprise." Melani frowned. "Skip the generalities, worm. I want the part of my ship back."

Moshi shrugged. "And I want you to leave me the hell alone, but you know, we can't always get what we want." Moshi smiled while Melani just stared him down. "I've had enough of this. Marsha, fire!"

The program's eyes lit up. Moshi charged forward and narrowly dodged the blast intended for him. Moshi skidded to a halt inches away from Melani before he threw a punch at her head. Melani leaned out of the way. However, the punch connected straight with Marsha. The program flew down the tracks. Melani's eyes widened in horror. "Marsha!" She ran over to the program and picked it up. "Transport me back to the bridge. This is priority one!" She jerked her head back at Moshi and gave him a deathly cold glare. "You'll pay dearly for this!" Moshi shrugged and stood relaxed. "If I had a dime for every time I heard that..." Melani faded out of existance. Moshi sighed and looked back up at the stars. "You can't be serious."

He turned around. "You all right, Kei?" Kei stood up and walked over to Moshi. "Yea. What was that?" Moshi shrugged. "Apparently, some chick who's got her panties in a twist."

"What was she talking about when she said a ship part?" "Huh? Oh, that. She was flying overhead when this disc fell out of her ship. Apparently she couldn't make it off the planet without it."

"W-why don't you just give it to her?" "I already tried that. Soon as I did, she attacked me." Moshi started walking towards Kei's house. "Come on, let's get you home."

* * *

Kei and Moshi made it to the entrance of the apartment building.

"This your stop?" said Moshi. "Yea. It is." Kei responded. Moshi smiled at Kei. "Hey. Don't worry about me, man. I've been in plenty worse situation. Don't burden yourself with my problems, Kei. I can get through this on my own. You keep going with your life." Kei smiled at Moshi. "T-thanks, Moshi." Moshi walked up the stairs as Moshi began down the road.

Kei turned around. "Hey, Moshi?" Moshi stopped and turned his head. "Are you gonna be around?" Moshi chuckled and began to walk. "I'm sure that we'll bump into each other again."

Kei laughed as he turned around and made his way up to the stairs. He got to his door and walked into his home.

"Mizuho, I'm home."

His wife was already in her night-gown, working on her console with Marie sitting next to her. "Hello, Kei." Kei leaned in and the two shared a kiss. Kei sat behind her and she rested her head on his knee and reached up with her hand. Kei reached out and laced his fingers with hers. "Sorry I'm back late." "I understand, Kei. We need to keep our relationship a secret."

"I met someone very interesting today."

"Oh?"

"Yea. He's an American named Moshi."

"An American? What is he doing in Lake Hima?"

"We asked him the same thing. Apparently, he just travels. He has no worries or anything he has to hurry for. He just wanders around, seeing the sights."

"He sounds like an interesting character."

"And a deep thinker too."

Mizuho smiled. "It's good to see that you've made a new friend." She stood up. "But that doesn't give you any excuse for staying out that late. Especially with Koishi, and you could've been doing something with her." "Oh come on, Mizuho! I've got no interest in her. You know that." "But she has a lot of interest in you." Kei was about to say something but thought against it. "How do I know that you weren't doing something with her?" Kei stood up and faced Mizuho. "We better get to bed." she said. "There's school again tommorrow." Kei nodded. The two of them walked off silently to the bedroom.

They slid under the covers. Mizuho turned her back towards Kei. "Mizuho..." he wrapped his arms around her and laced his hands with her. He rubbed the ring he gave her at their wedding. "I could never love another woman. You're the light of my life. You make me accelerate when everything else stands still. I could never be unfaithful to you." He leaned in to her ear. "I love you, Mizuho. So much." "Kei..."

She turned over and the two shared a passionate kiss.


	3. Chapter 2: Troublesome Rumors

Disclaimer: 

Please Teacher is not my property. I did not create any of the characters except Moshi and Melani.

("I") Depicts dialogue

(_"I"_) Depicts thought

* * *

Chapter 2: Troublesome Rumors

* * *

"Kei!"

Kei jerked in his seat. "W-what?"

Koishi looked at Kei while Koishi, Ichigo, Matagu, and Kaede stood around him.

"Are you even listening?" Kei looked down.

"N-no. I zoned out a bit."

Koishi frowned as she looked at Kei. "Unbelievable."

Matagu shook his head. "Don't go so hard on him, Koishi. The guy looks a little troubled." Ichigo looked over to Kei.

"Is it true, Kei?"

Kei he looked away as he recalled last night when he saw Moshi encounter the woman. He looked back at the rest of the group.

"A-actually, yea. You see..."

"Hey everyone!" Hyosuke walked into the classroom, grinning like an idiot. Everyone turned to him.

"Hey, Hyosuke." they all said.

Kei gave a sigh of relief.

_He told me I didn't need to worry. He seems like the kind of guy that could take care of himself._

"So what big news do you have for us today, Hyosuke?" Matagu asked.

"Oh man...it's gonna blow your mind!"

Hyosuke sat down at his desk.

"Just tell us!" yelled Koishi.

Ichigo looked over at Kaede. "You really love that thing?" She blushed and nodded.

"I have been for a while now." Ichigo looked down and sighed.

Hyosuke sat down. "All right...here it is..."

Everyone leaned in. Hyosuke's grin got even bigger. "Aliens..."

Matagu furrowed his brow and tilted his head. "What?"

"ALIENS!"

The group stepped back a bit as Hyosuke yelled. Kei's eyes widened. Koishi glared at Hyosuke. "You don't believe me?" Hyosuke said.

"We're probably not the only ones." Ichigo replied. Koishi looked at Kei, then did a double take. "You all right, Kei?"

Kei had frozen up some. "O-oh, yea. I-I'm f-fine."

"Yea," said Hyosuke. "Apparently, an alien is walking around, acting like a person! Some guy said he saw a UFO and someone new appeared in town. And I think Iknow who it is. It's..."

"Good morning, everyone."

Kei looked like he had just seen a ghost.

Mizuho opened the door and walked into the classroom. The students quickly scurried back to their seats. Mizuho put her books down on her desk and looked at everyone. "Hope you're all well."

Hyosuke stood up. "Ms. Kazami, have you heard that there are aliens around here?"

Mizuho froze in her spot.

"What?"

"Yea. I guess some guy said that he saw a UFO and figured that some person in Lake Hima is actually an alien."

Kei and Mizuho's faces flushed in an instant.

"I'm going to find out who it is. I'll know by after lunch!"

Mizuho swallowed a lump in her throat and tried to collect herself.

"Well, that is...um...interesting news."

* * *

Mizuho walked in to the equipment shed and stood in the corner. A few minutes later, Kei entered as well. Kei darted his head back out and made sure the coast was clear. Then he pulled back in and shut the door. He then looked at Mizuho.

"What happened?"

"I don't know, Kei. I didn't have anything to do with this." Mizuho sighed. "Maybe he was seeing things."

"Well, whatever happened, things got bigger than they should've been."

"Yes..."

The two stood in silence for a few moments.

"How would they know you're an alien?" said Kei in a softer voice. Mizuho shrugged and shook her head.

"What are we going to do?"

"Maybe he knows. This could be it. If they find out my secret..."

Kei turned to Mizuho. "I don't wanna think about it. I don't know what would happen if I lost you."

Mizuho smiled and welled up a bit. "Me neither."

"Mizuho?"

"Kei?"

"No matter what happens next..."

"You don't need to say it, Kei."

A tear ran down Mizuho's cheek. Kei walked over and brushed it off. The two smiled at each other.

A ringing could be heard.

"The bell."

The two looked at each other again.

Kei opened the door and checked outside before he dashed around the corner and back to the classroom.

Mizuho stood for a few seconds, her mind racing. She wiped a few tears from her cheeks and walked out.

* * *

Koishi, Ichigo, and Kaede sat around a desk and whispered and giggled.

"Who do you think it is?" was the sentence on everybody's lips.

Kei sat at his desk, flushed of all color in his face. A few minutes later, Matagu and Hyosuke walked in, and Hyosuke had his trademark grin on again.

"Oh yea!"

The final bell rang as everybody began to take their seats. As soon as everyone was seated, Hyosuke jumped on top of his desk. Kei sat at his desk, doing his best to cover the fact that he was sweating bullets. Mizuho sat at her desk with her eyes closed.

"I know who the alien is!"

Someone yelled, "Well, then tell us, Hyosuke!"

Kei set his head down on the desk.

_This can't be the end._

He looked up at his wife, who looked right back at him. Both of them then shut their eyes, preparing themselves for whatever happened next.

_Kei, my love..._

_This can't be happening._

_"His name is..."_

_Wait..._

_Did he just say..._

_'His'?_

Kei and Mizuho opened their eyes.

"MOSHI!"

The whole class paused for a moment. Ichigo looked at Hyosuke in disbelief.

"What?"

"Moshi. Ever heard of him?"

Koishi spoke up. "Yea. We saw him break-dancing at the bazaar over the weekend. Right, Kei?"

Kei, who had the feeling rush back into his body, turned to Koishi and nodded.

"See? How is he an alien?" said Ichigo. "He's just a breakdancer."

"He can glide."

"Hyosuke, that's a breakdancing move."

Hyosuke's grin disappeared.

"N-no it isn't. I think he can glide. I-I think he's an alien."

The entire class burst into laughter. Hyosuke sat back down and slammed his face into his desk. Mizuho was rubbing her brow and shaking her head. Kei sat up and smiled. Mizuho looked away from Hyosuke and smiled as well.

* * *

"I still can't believe that you thought he was an alien."

Matagu said as he looked at Hyosuke who hung his head in shame as the group walked down the road. Kaede giggled.

"It's all right, Hyosuke. Not the first time that something like this has happened." said Ichigo.

The rest of the group began to snicker.

"I've never seen that before!"

Koishi spoke up. "I guess there's nothing wrong with that, but that doesn't make him an alien."

"Yea, Hyosuke. You can't say that everything you haven't seen before is not of this planet."

Hyosuke shook his head. "Well, the UFO still stands."

Matagu cleared his throat. "Did you actually see it?"

Hyosuke paused. "I...er..." Kei smiled.

"Don't worry, Hyosuke. Someday you'll get it."

Hyosuke snorted. "Yea, I wonder when that's gonna happen."

"Right now."

Hyosuke looked up. "What?"

There was a slight whooshing noise as something flew in a straight path and struck Hyosuke in the gut. Hyosuke gasped and got on one knee as he started to breath heavily. Kaede went over and patted him on the back.

"What...the hell...was that?" he managed to wheeze out.

"A size thirteen shoe."

Kei, Koishi, and Ichigo turned to see Moshi leaning against a tree with his bare foot propped on his other shoe.

"Kei, Koishi, Ichigo! Good to see you again."

"Hey, Moshi." Kei said back. Koishi smiled at Moshi whilst Ichigo nodded.

"Coincidence that I'd find you guys walking home this way." Moshi said as he started to walk over.

"Not really, Moshi. You walked home with me the other night." replied Kei.

Moshi nodded and shrugged. He slipped his foot into his other shoe.

"Ah, no matter." He sat down next to the gasping Hyosuke.

"You all right, Hyosuke? Didn't think you'd get hit that hard. Sorry about that." Hyosuke rolled onto his butt and kept breathing heavily.

"How..." Hyosuke gasped. "Oh. Well, gravity." Hyosuke's eyes widened. Moshi chuckled.

"Yea, imagine if I had put a little muscle behind that shot, huh?" He said as he nudged Hyosuke. He looked at Kaede and Matagu.

Matagu waved. "I'm Matagu Shido." Kaede looked over. "I'm Kaede."

"Oh! I'm Moshi. Nice to meet you two." Then he looked over at Hyosuke. "And it's nice to meet you as well."

"Well, as soon as Hyosuke puts himself back together, I'd be honored if you'd join me for a little snack over in the grass. How's it sound?"

"As long as you don't knock anybody else out with your shoes." said Koishi. Moshi nodded.

"I won't do that again, Hyosuke. But believe me when I say you had it coming." Hyosuke finally regulated his breathing and nodded.

Moshi smiled. "You know what? Take your best shot." Hyosuke was a little taken aback. Moshi smiled.

"Go ahead, I think it's only fair. Go on, gimmie a..."

Moshi wasn't able to finish his sentence. Hyosuke gave Moshi a hook right in the cheek.

As soon as Moshi sat back up, he ran his tongue across his teeth. Then he spit something on the ground. "That was a good one."

Hyosuke smiled. Moshi smiled at him and the two slapped hands.

Koishi just stared blankly. "That was wierd."

"It's a guy thing." Ichigo said.

Moshi rubbed his hands together. "Right! Who's hungry?"


	4. Chapter 3: Shapes in the Clouds

Disclaimer:

Please Teacher is not my property. I did not create any of the characters except Moshi and Melani.

("I") Denotes speech

("_I_") Denotes thought

("**I**") Denotes song

* * *

Chapter 3: Shapes in the Clouds

* * *

Moshi smiled and laughed. All of them were sitting on the grass in a circle with a bowl of rice balls in the center.

"Well, good for you guys. Not many people get the chance to build an airplane, no matter how it performed."

Kaede smiled and nodded. Matagu looked over to Moshi.

"So tell us a bit about yourself, Moshi."

Moshi sat up. "What do you mean?"

"Well, tell us where you're from, what you do for fun."

"Yea." Kei said. "I think that would be interesting."

Moshi smiled. "Well..."

"I'm originally from the United States. I graduated high-school and spent a year working. After the year was up, I decided to take my money and take a trip for a while. Back home, I lived with my two sisters, mother and father. I had a lot of friends back home, but I've made a lot more since I've been traveling."

Koishi smiled. "Like who?"

"Well, you guys." He said as he smiled and looked up at the rest of the group.

"Anyway, as for what I do with my spare time, I love music and I'm a musician of sorts. Before I left, I was a drummer for a metal band called Hyperion. We played a lot of stuff, but we seem prone to playing the wrong gigs at the wrong time. Such as the time we did a show for the 'Bomb-makers Anonymous'. After the first few times, we didn't open our mail for a couple of weeks. Guess they didn't get their medications."

"As you could probably already tell, I like to breakdance, and I like to fight, and sometimes do both at the same time."

"Is that shoe trick one of your fighting moves?" said Hyosuke, rubbing his gut.

"One of many." Moshi replied. "I dabbled in a lot of different fighting styles while I was growing up. I kinda developed my own fighting style in the recent years with the knowledge of the old stuff that I studied already."

Matagu looked over at Moshi. "Why did you do that in the first place?"

Moshi's smile faded a bit. "I grew up in a bad neighborhood. I used the get the hell beat out of me on a regular basis. After they started going after my friends and family, I had had enough of that crap. I trained hard until I could defend myself and those that I loved. Since then, I've never stopped. It's been thirteen years since I started."

Koishi's eyes widenend. "Thirteen years?"

Moshi smiled and nodded. "Damn proud, too."

"How do you find time for everything else?" said Kaede. "Like a girlfriend?"

Moshi shrugged. "I had two girlfriends in the past years. The first was...well..."

He looked up and his eyes traced the clouds. "She could've written the book 'Men are from Mars, I'm from Hell'. It was a pretty bad relationship. She started cheating on me halfway through our relationship and she thought that I didn't know. It was a bad break-up. Thank god I never saw her again."

"But my second girlfriend...wow...she was an angel. We were together for about four years. But on the night of our fifth year anniversary..."

Moshi paused. "Ah. No matter. That was the past."

Koishi was about to say something when Kei looked over and shook his head. Kei looked over at Moshi, who had hung his head. He saw what looked like a tear in the corner of his eye. Moshi flicked it away and looked back up, smiling.

Hyosuke tilted his head. "Something wrong?"

"Yea." said Moshi. He rolled onto his back and sprung into a handstand. He pushed off the ground and landed back on his feet.

"I'm gonna spoil your appetite, and it's getting late. You guys got school tommorrow anyway!"

Kei looked up and saw the sun setting. "He's right."

Everyone began to stand up and stir.

"Hey guys, thanks for sitting with me."

Ichigo and Koishi smiled at Moshi. "Anytime. Thanks for the snacks."

Hyosuke nodded. "Yea. That hit the spot."

Moshi shrugged. "What can I say? I like my snacks."

He picked up the bowl and sealed the lid on it and put it in his backpack. He looked up and smirked.

"I hope I can see you guys again soon. I like these little gatherings."

After a few goodbyes, everyone started walking off.

"Hey Kei?"

Kei turned to see Moshi walking towards him. "Can I walk with you?"

Kei smiled and nodded. "Sure."

The two began to walk down the dirt path. There was a silence between the two of them, neither looking at each other.

Finally, Kei looked over at Moshi. "What happened to her?"

Moshi stopped dead in his tracks. Kei stopped a few feet ahead of him.

He didn't turn around.

_Oh no..._

Kei looked back to see Moshi holding something. Kei turned to get a better look and saw that Moshi was holding a pair of silver rings hanging from a chain. He closed his hand in a fist and fell to his knees. He hunched over on all fours and began to cry.

Kei went over and knelt down to next to Moshi as he cried. "Moshi, I'm..."

Before Kei could finish his sentence, Moshi held up his hand, signaling him to step back. Kei just stood up and stepped back a few feet as Moshi continued to flood the road with tears.

_Wow. Poor Moshi. That's a lot of tears. I wonder what could've happened._

* * *

Kei sat on the side of the road, watching Moshi cry. It took a few minutes, but the tears stopped falling. Moshi rolled back on his side and reached into his backpack and pulled out a bottle of water.

After a few large swigs, he wiped his eyes and exhaled. Moshi sat up and smiled.

"Thanks, Kei."

"Huh? For what?"

Moshi rolled onto his back and kicked his legs up, springing up in an instant. He walked over to Kei and held out his hand. Kei grabbed a hold was was effortlessly lifted to his feet.

"For making me think about something that had been eating away at me for the past couple of years."

He brushed off his shirt and smiled. "Crying was the only way to get it out of my system."

Kei winced. "Was it about your love?"

Moshi smirked and nodded. "Yea. Her name was Victoria."

He began to walk down the road again. He put his arms behind his head and looked up at the stars.

"About two years ago, when I was a senior in high school, Victoria and I were about to have our fifth year anniversary."

Moshi grinned from ear to ear.

"It was gonna be incredible. We had everything planned out. The dinner, the show, the party..."

"Everybody was gonna be there. The school was putting on a big show for it too."

He looked down.

"That night, things were going fine. We just left the dinner hall and were about to head to the party..."

The smile faded from his face.

"Then our limo was attacked. A bunch of gang members started to raid it. I tried to reason with them, give them my wallet, anything. When they wouldn't reason with me, I tried to fight them off. I did my best to take them down, but it wasn't enough."

"Before I knew what happened, the thugs grabbed Victoria. I managed to get to her in time. The limo was done for, and Victoria and I were about to get away from the scene. But then..."

He reached down the neck of his shirt, and pulled out a silver chain. He held a pair of silver rings with intricate engravings on them in his hand.

"She dove in front of me. I didn't even realize it..."

"I heard a gun-shot, and Victoria fell. I turned around and caught her just in time. She took a bullet, intended for me."

"I held her in my arms as the thugs came at me. About that time, the cops showed up. If they didn't I would've killed every one of them."

He gazed at the rings he still had with a somber face.

"A week later, a funeral was held for her. For a while, the school was really down. It got better at the end of the year, but ever since, my school hasn't been the same. That, and I had trouble releasing what I had built up. I did whatever I could. I trained harder than ever before."

"But, something today happened. I guess actually talking about was all that did it. I'd never done that before, I never tried."

He closed the rings in his fist and fed them back down his shirt.

Kei seemed a little bewildered. "Wow."

Moshi smirked. "That's why I'm saying thanks. You helped me deal with something that was eating away at me for a long time. Few people I know have done that."

Kei smiled. "I'm glad that I could help."

"You know what the strange thing is?"

Moshi nudged Kei in the shoulder. "This isn't the first time that you've helped someone combat their inner demons. Doesn't feel like it at least."

"How would you know that? I barely said anything."

Moshi was about to speak when he tripped over a rock in the middle of the road. He landed on his hands and sent himself into a handspring. He landed back on his feet and brushed his hands off.

"Just how I figure things out. You have a grip on most things better than the rest of your friends, but I don't know why."

_I am eighteen after all._

Moshi grinned. "Guess I'll have to figure out things for myself."

_Maybe not._

"You all right, Kei?"

Kei smiled. "Yea, Moshi. I'm fine."

The two began to walk down the road again. After a few steps, Moshi laughed and smiled.

"This is why I travel."

Kei looked over. "To meet new people?"

"Not only that, but to better myself as a human being. Sometimes the best way to dig deeper into yourself is to go out and experience! Get the hell out of the box and have some fun!"

Kei laughed. "That's an interesting way of looking at things."

_Ever since I met Mizuho..._

"Then again, I guess the things you look for the most are right in front of you."

_Or come to you from deep space._

"But we'll never know, Kei. And that's the journey of life."

"You act like it's easy."

"Is for some, like me. Granted I had a few personal demons to fight before I began my trip, but I made it through."

"That's pretty impressive. I mean, here you are, traveling by yourself, and you don't have a care in the world."

"That sums it up."

* * *

"Wait a minute..."

"Looks like we made a wrong turn. Sorry, Kei."

Kei shrugged. He saw the supermarket out of the corner of his eye and saw Mizuho.

"Just as well, Moshi. I've gotta pick something up from the supermarket."

Moshi smiled. "You got it, man."

He held out his hand. Kei grabbed it and shook it. "Thanks for walking with me, Kei. And thanks for helping me."

Kei smiled back. "Thank you for opening my eyes."

Moshi patted Kei on the back and began walking down the road they came up. He began singing to himself.

**It's been such a long time...I think I should be going. Time doesn't wait for me, it keeps on rolling...**

Kei began walking towards to the supermarket. Mizuho saw him and waved. Kei ran up, smiling. The two gazed at each other for a few seconds before grabbing each other's hands and walked into the supermarket.

**Sail on, on a distant highway...I've gotta keep on chasing a dream, I've gotta be on my way...Wish there was something I could say...**


	5. Chapter 4: Stargazing

Disclaimer:

Please Teacher is not my property. I did not create any of the characters except Moshi and Melani.

("I") Denotes speech

("_I_") Denotes thought

* * *

Chapter 4: Stargazing

* * *

Kei and Mizuho strode out of the supermarket, both holding a bag of food.

As they reached the dirt road, the two laced their hands together. They walked down the road for a while. Kei finally turned his head and gazed at Mizuho. She turned and smiled at him. Kei got closer and rested his head on Mizuho's shoulder, closing his eyes and giving a sigh.

"What's the matter, Kei?"

"Hmm?"

He lifted his head up. "Oh...nothing. I just felt like doing something like that."

"You're so cute, Kei. I love how affectionate you can be."

They walked for a few moments again.

"Mizuho, have you ever lost someone important to you? Someone that you loved with all of your being?"

She looked over. "I thought I'd lost you..."

Kei smiled. "Remember that man I told you about the other day? Moshi?"

"Mmmhmm."

"Well, me and my school buddies sat and had a snack with him in the grass."

"We all talked to him for a while about each of us and we were having a great time. Then we asked him questions. We brought up girlfriends and he shut down."

"Oh?"

"Yea. He's had two. Apparently, the first one was pretty mean to him. But the second one was his greatest love. They were together for a long time. The night of their fifth year anniversary, his love died."

Mizuho shuddered. "Oh no..."

"She dove in front of him and took a bullet that was shot at him."

"That's horrible."

"Yes. I couldn't believe what I was hearing. He told me all of that after he sat down and cried for a long time."

"What did that do for him?"

"Well, he told me it was a way for him to release what he had welled up inside of him. He'd been holding on to that pain for a long time. And it was just a few hours ago that he let it go. And after he was done, he thanked me. I had helped him release."

"That's great, Kei."

Mizuho leaned in and kissed Kei on the cheek. Kei kissed Mizuho back and the two smiled at each other.

Kei looked up and saw the stars dotting the skies. "Mizuho?"

"Yes, Kei?"

"Are stars that beautiful up close?"

"If you like a close personal view of your sun."

Kei chuckled.

"Why do you ask?"

"Moshi was talking about stars the first night I met him. He travels so much that the only thing that he says are familiar to him are the stars."

Kei looked at Mizuho again.

"And whenever he looks at them he remembers the people and the things that had happened on his travels."

Mizuho stopped, and Kei did a few seconds later.

"Why are you interested in Moshi?"

"Ever since he came around, he's taught me a couple things."

"Like what."

He gazed at Mizuho.

"Never stop loving the people that you love."

Mizuho smiled. The two leaned in and kissed each other and then continued walking down the road.

* * *

Kei and Mizuho had made it back to the tracks with a field overlooking it. Kei looked up at the stars and then the field. With Mizuho's hand in his, he started to jog over to the field.

"Kei? Wha?"

"Come on!"

The two laughed as they ran into the grass. They got right in the middle of the field and dropped down, laying by each other holding hands. The two gazed up in to the stars.

"Wow. The stars look beautiful when you look at them like this." said Kei.

Mizuho smiled. "They look different from the bridge. I used to go stargazing with mother and Maho when I was a lot younger. It's been a while since I've ever looked at the stars like this, let alone in a place like this."

The two looked at each other, smiled, and then started looking at the stars again.

* * *

Moshi sat on a tree branch as he traced the stars with his eyes. He laughed to himself as memories flew through his head.

_That was a hell of a party._

He then heard something coming up the road. He turned his head and saw a couple running into the grass. The two laid down and began to talk to one another. Moshi smiled.

_That's beautiful._

But then he took a closer look. He leaned over a bit.

_Kei?_

He then heard a snap.

"Whoops."

The branch gave out, and Moshi began to fall.

* * *

Kei looked over at the trees. "Did you hear something?"

Mizuho looked at Kei. "No. Should've I?"

Kei shrugged and looked back up at the stars, and Mizuho followed suit.

"Mizuho? What do you think will happen after I get out of high school?"

"I don't know. Maybe we'll go to college."

Kei smiled. "That would be...wait...we?"

"Yes. I think it would be a great experience if we attended college together. There's still much to learn about Earth. And seeing as things are how they are..."

She turned to Kei.

"I couldn't see a better way to spend our time."

Kei looked at Mizuho. "I think that's a great idea. We should take it year by year though, see what happens."

The two looked and smiled at each other.

"Perfect evening for stargazing, isn't it?"

Kei smiled and responded. "Yea, it..."

Mizuho and Kei paused. The two looked up and saw Moshi, smiling.

"Evening. Hope I wasn't interupting anything."

In and instant Kei and Mizuho were standing up, hands apart from each other.

"M-Moshi, it's not what it looks like, she's my teacher and...uh..."

Moshi smiled and raised and eyebrow.

Mizuho piped in. "We were just...uh...catching up on an astrology assignment."

"Y-yea, and we..."

Moshi just shook his head.

"Oh, stop it."

Mizuho and Kei paused.

"I saw you two running through the grass holding each other's hands. And now that I know that she's your teacher, that would explain the way that you reacted the way you two did."

Moshi tilted his head.

"But, you don't need to worry about me anyway. I won't tell anyone."

He put his arms behind his head and looked at the two, beaming.

"Just proves that love blooms anywhere."

There was silence for a moment.

"Well? Come on. Quit acting like you've just seen a ghost."

He looked at Mizuho and bowed. "Sorry. My name is Moshi."

"Yes. I've heard of you. My name's Mizuho."

"Sorry, Moshi. It's just, not many people know that me and Mizuho are...you know...together."

"Ah. The forbidden love. I know how that works. My first girlfriend should've been a forbidden love."

"Really?" said Kei.

"Yea. I should've forbidden our relationship."

Kei and Mizuho chuckled as Moshi smirked. "So, how long have you two been together?"

"Close to a year now." said Mizuho.

Moshi smiled and a tear ran down his cheek. Kei winced a bit. "Moshi, are you..."

Moshi brushed the tear away. "I'm fine, Kei. I'm just a sucker for love. I think you two are so beautiful together. I haven't known either of you that long, but I can already tell that the bonds between you two are incredible."

"And I've also just figured out, that you two are married."

Kei's jaw dropped. "What?"

Moshi nodded at Mizuho's hand.

"The rock gives it away. Mizuho doesn't seem like the kind of person that would cheat on her spouse anyway, so that would mean that you are her husband."

"And that would mean that you either lied about your age or you're a complete dumbass to be starting high school when you're 18!"

Moshi shrugged. "Then again, that explains why you're more mature than most of your friends. Except Ichigo. She's a sharp one too."

"How do you figure all of this out, Moshi?" said Kei.

"Eh...I'm not sure anymore."

* * *

Melani Serrac moved through the shadows, keeping and eye out for anyone that would spot her.

_Where is that worthless human..._

She continued her stealth advances.

_Thanks to him, Marsha is damn near destroyed, and my ship is still missing a piece. And without that, I can't get back home._

She darted under the trees, making sure the coast was clear before making another move.

_And what's worse, my communications system is down. Without the missing part, I can't even raido home..._

Melani had made it to the edge of the trees. She was about ot move again when she saw Moshi standing with another two people in the field.

She pulled a scope from a pocket on her suit and zoomed in.

_That woman, looks familiar..._

The woman turned her head and Melani gasped.

_That's Mizuho Kazami!_

Melani rolled back on to the tree and grinned.

_If I bring her back along with that troublesome Moshi, they would put me on the Galatic Counsil._

She looked around and saw that Kei and Mizuho were walking down the road. Moshi was nowhere to be seen.

_Where did that worm go?_

"Evening, Melani."


	6. Chapter 5: Pillow Talk

Disclaimer:

Please Teacher is not my property. I did not create any of the characters except Moshi and Melani.

("I") Denotes speech

("_I_") Denotes thought

* * *

Chapter 5: Pillow Talk

* * *

Melani froze on the spot.

:"You know, correct me if I'm wrong, but aren't the stars up a ways?"

Melani smiled and turned around. Moshi was leaning on a tree about ten feet away from her.

"Unless of course, you're a closet pervert. That would explain a few things."

"Shut up, human. I've had enough of you and your antics. I want my ship part back."

Moshi stood upright. "And assuming I gave this to you, how would I be assured that you don't try to stab me in the back again?"

Melani gave a sinister smile. "Simple. I'll give you your freedom if you give me the ship piece, and Mizuho Kazami."

Moshi paused. Then he cleared his throat.

"Well, let me say...hell no. I'd die before I let my friends do something like that for me."

Melani growled. Moshi just shrugged. "I'm guessing you're now back to square one."

Melani stepped forward and dropped into a fighting stance.

"I've had enough of this, you bastard. I'm going to beat into dust, then take you and my ship part with me"  
"Best of luck to you, Melani. You already know I'm not going down without a fight." said Moshi, still leaning on the tree with a smile on his face.

Melani charged forward. As soon as she got close enough, she threw a huge punch aimed for Moshi's head. Moshi pushed off the tree effortlessly, dodging the attack completely and causing Melani to hit the bark instead. Melani winced as she pulled her hand back.

She caught movement out of the corner of her eye and sent her arms up in time to block a huge kick from Moshi. The force of the kick sent her skidding back a few feet.

Melani moved forward and snet another combo of attacks towards Moshi. However, Moshi would sway his body and dodge every attack she threw at him. Melani managed to knee Moshi in the gut, at which he bent over, coughing.

Melani spun around and sent her leg down in an axe kick, hitting Moshi in the back. As Melani connected with her kick, Moshi flung his arms up and threw his torso up, causing Melani to fall back.

In mid-air, Moshi grabbed Melani's leg with both hands and threw her into the trees. Melani hit a tree full force with a sickening thud. She let out a cry of pain and fell to the ground coughing and clenching the dirt. Melani rose to her knees and barely blocked another kick, which was aimed for her head.

Melani threw a punch at Moshi, who stepped back to avoid it. Melani quickly stood up and threw a handful of dirt at Moshi, whom held up his hand to block it. Melani then swept her leg on the ground, to which Moshi jumped over and brought his fist down. Melani didn't have time to react and was smashed into the ground.

Moshi turned around and did a backflip, intended on stomping Melani with his landing, but she rolled out of the way, and jumped back up and threw herself on to Moshi, locking him into a sleeper hold. He grabbed Melani's arms and tried to pull them away. Melani laughed into his ear.

"It'll be over soon Moshi! I've got you now!"

Moshi didn't say anything, but began to run towards a tree. Melani tightened her lock more, trying to slow him down. But Moshi kept running, looking as though Melani was affecting him. Moshi got a few feet away from the tree and jumped up. Then, he kicked off with his feet and propelled himself with great speed towards another tree. Melani looked behind her, but it was too late.

Melani was smashed into the tree and screamed, pain surging through her body. She released her hold as she and Moshi fell to the ground. Melani landed in a spread eagle as Moshi landed on his feet. He turned around and looked down at Melani.

"Wrong again, Melani."

Melani looked up and glared at Moshi. She started to laugh and dropped a small ball out of her hand.

Moshi raised his hands just in time as the ball exploded in a flash of light. He looked down, and Melani was gone.

Moshi nodded. "Not bad. But for someone with a high rank, you rarely get your hands dirty."

He just stood with his eyes closed, listening closely. "You have decent skills, but you have a lot of big flaws."

A breeze started to pick up.

_Where is she..._

"You constantly underestimate your opponents, Melani. And it leads to your undoings."

The leaves began to rustle and the branches began to sway.

"I know you think you're all high and mighty and that we humans are inferior beings in aspects of the spectrum."

The wind stopped. Then he heard it. A very light breathing.

"But no matter what, there's always a bigger fish."

The breathing stopped. Moshi jumped out of the way just in time to dodge Melani attacking from behind him. She rolled onto her feet as she landed. Melani stood back up and turned around, but was hit in the face with Moshi's taped fist. She stumbled back, clenching her face. Moshi stepped forward and kicked Melani in the shin, sending her down to a knee.

Moshi hit Melani in the head with a left fist, and then a right, then did a backflip, trying to kick Melani in the head. Melani barely dodged the kick, having Moshi's toe graze her nose.

Melani fell backwards and scooted back towards the nearest tree, propping herself against it, breathing heavily. Moshi stood a few feet away, hands in his pocket. He shook his head.

"You picked a fight with the wrong guy, Ms. Serrac. You've given me the reason to fight back. Had you not tried to stab me in the back, we could've gone our seperate ways."

Melani laughed. "This isn't over yet, human."

"I figured as much."

Melani threw another ball at Moshi's feet. Moshi threw his hands up in time to shield his eyes from another flash.

The light subsided, and Moshi lowered his hands. He looked down, and Melani was gone.

Moshi sighed and began to walk out of the forest and back down the road.

_It's been quite an interesting night. Melani is lucky that I held back. She probably would be in worse shape than she is now._

He sighed.

_I don't want to kill Melani. The last thing I want to start is a war. But the clock is ticking. She might've already called in someone to help her, and that's the last thing that I need. Unless..._

Moshi looked up at the sky.

_The ship part is a component in her comms. In that case, that means I've got a while before someone comes looking for her._

Moshi stopped and looked down.

_My ass is on the line. I've got to figure out a way to send Melani back home with her mouth shut, or else she'll come back. But..._

Moshi held his head in his taped hand.

_How do I do that?_

He pulled his hand away and looked at the back of it.

_My abilities may not be able to solve this one. I need help. But I don't know any aliens. Unless..._

Moshi turned back down the road.

_What did Melani want Mizuho for?_

He sighed again.

"What the hell did I get myself into?"

* * *

Mizuho stood at the sink, washing dishes. Kei sat at his books, reading over a few pages.

"Your grades have been getting better, Kei. I'm proud of you."

"All thanks to your help."

Mizuho smiled. Kei looked over.

"Mizuho?"

"Hmmm?"

"When you said you wanted to go to college, where did you want to go?"

Mizuho set a few dry dishes to the side.

"I hear the students talking about a univeristy of sorts. Tokyo University."

Kei paused. "Tokyo U? That's gonna take a lot of work, Mizuho."

Mizuho smiled at Kei. "We can do it, Kei. I have faith in you."

Kei turned over to Mizuho, smiling. "I have faith in you."

He turned back to his books. "All right. Let's shoot for Tokyo U!"

Mizuho caught something out of the corner of her, something outside the window. She turned her head and looked out the window. A few moments later, she saw a flash.

_I know that flash. That must be..._

Mizuho dropped a plate into the sink. Kei looked up. Mizuho's face was flushed and she had a look of horror on her face.

"Mizuho! What's wrong?"

Kei ran up and caught his wife as she stared to fall. Mizuho was breathing heavily for a few minutes.

"Someone's here, Kei. Someone coming to get me..."

Kei sighed. Mizuho looked up, confused.

"The first night I walked home with Moshi, he got attacked by a woman."

"Why did you keep this from me?"

"I'm sorry, Mizuho. Moshi told me he didn't want me to tell anyone and he didn't want to worry anyone."

"How did Moshi end up in this fight?"

Kei shook his head. Mizuho sighed. "You really shouldn'tve kept this from me. This could mean that..."

"Don't say it, Mizuho."

Mizuho looked down.

"I love you so much, Mizuho." Mizuho looked up. "We can make it through this."

Mizuho smiled. "I love you too, Kei. But, this will be harder than anything we've ever come up against."

Mizuho walked over to her console. She opened it up and a face appeared on the screen.

"Mother...I need your help."

* * *

Melani stepped out of a small chamber. She put on her jumpsuit and began to move around her ship.

_This is unacceptable. How can a mere human do that to me?_

She made it to the bridge and saw Marsha laying on the main console.

_His fighting style is incredible. Not only can he dodge any attack that I throw at him, he can flow from attack to attack in a fluid motion._

Melani rubbed her back.

_He hits so hard and so fast. I'm glad I blocked his kicks, otherwise I'd be in worse shape than I was a few minutes ago._

She walked down to the cargo hold.

_I won't be able to beat him on my own. Even with combat inhibitors, he'll still posses superior strength._

She kicked a crate and winced in pain. Then she looked down at the crate and smiled.

"My present."

She opened it and pulled out a robotic head. She held it in both hands and observed it.

"This will suffice."


	7. Chapter 6: Mark of the Past

Disclaimer:

Please Teacher is not my property. I did not create any of the characters except Moshi and Melani.

("I") Denotes dialogue

("_I_") Denotes thought

* * *

Chapter 6: Mark of the Past

* * *

Mizuho was sitting against a tree, holding her arm. A flow of blood ran down her arm and dripped off of her hand as looked up to the woman Kei

saw attack Moshi bearing down on her.

Kei tried to move. He fought with all of his might but his body didn't respond. Melani came closer.

"It's time to pay the piper, Mizuho."

A look of fear enveloped Mizuho, and she started to shake. Kei wanted to scream, do anything.

But he couldn't.

Melani grabbed Mizuho, who tried to shove her off. Melani smiled and jabbed Mizuho in the gut with an electric baton. Mizuho gasped and

coughed.

Light began to surround them. Kei could feel tears streaming down his face.

"NOOOO!"

* * *

Kei bolted upright in his mattress, breathing heavily. He quickly turned to his side to see Mizuho, fast asleep.

Kei gave a sigh of relief and laid back down, slowly regulating his breathing. He rubbed his face and put on his glasses and a shirt.

_I'm surprised she was able to get any rest._

He rolled out of bed and stood up. Kei made his way out of the bedroom and into the living room. The sun had just began to rise, and it cast out a

beautiful explosion of colors.

Kei opened up the glass door leading to the balcony and walked out. He leaned on the railing and gazed out into the sunrise.

_Poor Mizuho. She and I were up for a while last night because she couldn't stop worrying._

He looked down.

_It took us both a while to calm down. We just held each other all night until she fell asleep._

Kei's ear perked up. He heard a soft padding behind him and turned to see Mizuho walking towards him. Kei walked back in and shut the door

behind him.

The two met and hugged each other.

After a few seconds, the two let go.

"Are you all right, Mizuho?"

Mizuho nodded. "Better than I was..."

"What did Hatsuho say?"

"Mother would come to Earth and help. She and Maho can get through the system and can help us here. With what little we know, we're going to

need all the help we can get if we want to make it through this problem."

There was a silence. Then Kei looked up.

"Mizuho..."

Mizuho turned to him. "Kei, there's something I want to get off of my mind."

"A-all right."

"When you told me about Moshi and the alien, I was upset."

"Why?"

"Because you brushed something off that was incredibly important!"

Mizuho began to well up.

"Don't you understand? I could be taken away!"

Kei gritted his teeth. He heard a tapping somewhere.

"How could you even say that!"

There was silence. He heard it again, a faint tapping.

"I didn't tell you because I knew you would get upset and start worrying like this."

Mizuho looked down. "That doesn't give you a right."

Kei nodded. "I know..." he said. "But I didn't even wanna think about you getting taken. I couldn't handle that."

Mizuho looked up, a tear falling down her cheek.

"I'm sorry, Mizuho. I never should've hidden this from you..."

The two moved closer. They embraced each other again.

With their faces inches away from each other, Kei gazed into Mizuho's eyes.

"We can make it through this. I'm not letting you get taken."

Mizuho smiled. "Kei..."

Tap...tap...

The two began to kiss. The tapping stopped.

Mizuho and Kei released each other after a passionate kiss. Kei opened his mouth, but before he could speak, there was a loud thud and a

rattling.

Mizuho and Kei looked over to the glass door. On the balcony was a large black shoe.

"What the?"

Kei walked over and opened the door. He bent over and picked up the shoe, which was surprisingly heavy. He heard a whistling. Trying to find the

source of the sound, Kei leaned over the balcony and saw someone on the ground.

"Took you long enough. I ran out of rocks."

"Oh...Moshi."

Moshi nodded and smiled. "I hate to bother you this early in the day, but I couldn't wait."

He put his hands in his pockets. "I need to talk to you guys."

Kei nodded. "I think we need to talk to you too."

"I thought so."

"I'll unlock the door for you."

Moshi shrugged. "I'll be up in a sec. Just make sure that you and your wife are decent."

Kei nodded and walked back in to the house. He turned to Mizuho. "Moshi's here."

"I don't know, Kei." She looked over to Kei. "How do we know we can trust him?"

"Because he believes in the two of us."

Kei recalled Moshi's outburst of tears.

"He believes in love."

Mizuho nodded. "All right."

She grabbed Kei and the two went into the bedroom. Mizuho grabbed a shirt and a pair of pants and quickly changed as Kei grabbed a pair of

pants. He quickly put them on and walked out to the living room. As he walked out, Mizuho said, "I'll be out in a moment."

Kei nodded and closed the door behind him.

_His shoe..._

Kei walked over to the balcony and reached for the shoe.

A taped hand grabbed the ledge and another gripped the railing. Kei jumped back a bit..

Moshi flipped over the ledge and brushed himself off. Kei sighed.

"Wha...how?"

Moshi looked up, confused. Then looked back down towards the ground.

"Nothing I haven't done before." He turned and shrugged.

Kei looked at Moshi and noticed something different about him. He couldn't put his finger on it, but it looked as if he was carrying more weight

than usual. Regardless, Moshi stood like a tower.

Moshi patted Kei on the shoulder. "How are you, bud?"

Kei shrugged. "Things have been..."

Kei went silent.

Moshi's smile faded a little. "I know how it is." He slipped his foot into the black shoe and looked back at the sunrise. After a few seconds, a smile

began to spread on his face.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" said Moshi.

"The sunrise?"

Moshi nodded. "It reminds me of Victoria."

He leaned on the railing and gazed at the colors.

"We used to wake up and watch the morning sun. We loved just sitting together and looking over the scene that had been painted in front of us."

"That sounds incredible."

Moshi turned to Kei and nodded. "You and Mizuho should try it some time."

Kei smiled. He heard a door open and turned to see Mizuho coming from the bedroom. Kei walked in as Moshi turned to see Mizuho.

"Morning, Mizuho."

"Good morning, Moshi."

Moshi turned around and bowed his head.

"As I was saying to Kei, I apologize for bugging you guys so early, but I need to talk to you."

"It's just as well." said Mizuho. "We need to talk to you as well."

Moshi nodded. "I guess I'll start."

The three of them sat down. Kei and Mizuho on one side and the lone Moshi on the other.

"A few nights ago, on my way here, something flew overhead. After it flew over, something fell from the sky and landed in the tall grass. After a bit

of time, I found what had fallen. It was a disc that looked like a manhole cover with a series of systematic holes."

Mizuho furrowed her brow.

_What? How could have that happened?_

Moshi paused. "You all right?"

Mizuho snapped back to the conversation. "Yes. Please continue."

Moshi nodded.

"Anyway. I then met with the pilot of the ship, or so I thought. She came out of thin air and demanded to get her disc back. I didn't have any

objections, so I handed it over."

Moshi sighed. "But then, she attacked me. I kicked her, grabbed her disc, and ran. Ever since that night, she's been attacking me."

He looked up at both of them. "Her name is Melani Serrac. And the last time I fought with her, she expressed interest in you, Mizuho."

Mizuho sighed.

_Melani...That makes sense._

"That's my side of it in a nutshell."

Mizuho and Kei nodded.

"Could you tell me why Melani has an interest in you?"

"Moshi," said Mizuho. "How do we know we can trust you?"

Moshi smirked. "What could I do that would let you trust me?"

There was a bit of silence.

Then, Moshi began to unwrap the tape on his left hand. "I'll show you something that I haven't shown many other people."

He unwrapped his hand and flexed it before turning the back of his hand towards them. On the back of it was a runic sort of tattoo.

"A tattoo?"

Moshi shrugged. "You can say that. I've had it since I was five years old."

"What does it symbolize?" said Kei.

"I've been marked."

He lowered his hand and turned the palm down, looking at the tattoo.

"This was partly the reason that I started my fighting ways, because whenever I wore it in the open, I always got in a fight."

Kei studied it before he saw it lead down from his wrist and under the tape.

"How far does it go?"

Moshi began to unwrap the rest and saw the tattoo wrap around his entire forearm. He held out his forearm and twisted it, showing in clear view

that his entire forearm was covered by a single tattoo. The only thing that didn't have ink on it were his fingers and his palm.

"Since you were five?"

Moshi gave a somber nod. He began to wrap up his forearm and hand again.

"It's one of the few things I keep hidden."

Mizuho nodded. Kei laced his hand in hers and squeezed. She looked at Kei, smiled and then looked at Moshi.

"It started about two years ago..."


	8. Chapter 7: Toaster Crumbs and a Joke

Disclaimer:

Please Teacher is not my property. I did not create any of the characters except Moshi and Melani.

("I") Denotes dialogue

("_I_") Denotes thought

* * *

Chapter 7: Toaster Crumbs and a Knock Knock Joke

* * *

Melani paced up and down the bridge of her ship. In the center of the bridge stood a humanoid robot that was about seven feet tall. A mechanical whirring could be heard as it stood, motionless.

After a few minutes of whirring, the noise stopped. Silence. Then a pair of red lenses lit up on the face of the robot, and it snapped at attention.

It spoke in a monotonous voice. "Robotic Support Unit Serial Number AZ52-90T. A.K.A. Sirus."

A grin spread across Melani's face. "Diagnostics Report."

"Fully assembled and fully functional. No damage detected. Basic module, operational. Combat module, operational. Stealth module, operational. Current status, awaiting orders."

Melani nodded. "Good."

_How should I employ this..._

She looked at the robot.

_My husband and my brother gave me this and told me to use it when I needed it. And since it wasn't registered with the ships cargo..._

"Sirus, explain your system capabilities."

"I was originally programmed for heavy work loads. Recently, I was modified to include combat and stealth into my system capabilities."

"What equipment do you have?"

"I am equipped with a standard welding torch, palm laser, two standard military grenades, and a limited cloaking mechanism."

Melani smiled and looked up.

_This seems too easy..._

"Your orders, Officer Serrac?"

Melani looked over to Sirus.

"Hmmm? Oh yes..."

She stopped pacing and faced the robot.

"How compatible are you for retrieval missions?"

"Average."

Melani nodded. "That will have to do."

Sirus remained motionless.

"Here are your orders. Subdue and capture a human known as Moshi, and retrieve the main systems disc."

There was silence for a moment, then Sirus spoke.

"Understood. I was able to find a description of the target from temporary records in the ship's mainframe."

Melani nodded.

"What are the mission parameters?"

Melani thought for a second. Then spoke.

"Under no circumstances are you to reveal yourself to any humans, with the exclusion of Moshi. If it is possible, try to keep away from populated areas as well. Under no circumstances are you to use any of your equipment, other than your cloaking mechanism."

"Understood. Anything else?"

Melani's smile became greater.

"Yes. You are to keep Moshi occupied as much as possible. I have objectives of my own to tend to, and Moshi will merely hinder my progress."

"Understood."

Melani began to laugh.

"What's so funny?" said Sirus.

Melani stopped laughing and put on a somber expression.

"Nothing. You have your orders. Dismissed."

"Understood."

Sirus exited the bridge.

Melani viewed a wall of monitors and smiled.

_With Moshi out of the way, I can focus on capturing Mizuho. I'll capture her, and by the time I do that..._

She turned and began to walk to her quarters in the ship. Melani came in and looked at Marsha, who had been repairing itself for a long time.

_Sirus will have captured Moshi and gotten my ship piece back._

"Flawless..."

* * *

"...and ever since I came back, we've been together." said Mizuho, smiling. She and Kei were holding hands and sitting close together.

Kei nodded. "We've been moving forward together. It's been incredible."

Moshi sat across from them, looking at them with wonder in his eyes. In his taped hand, he held the pair of silver rings and chain he hung from his neck.

For a few seconds, Moshi didn't say a thing. Then, his eyes started to well up. A few tears ran down his cheeks.

"Oh no. Moshi, are you..." began Kei. But Moshi smiled, and wiped the tears away.

"I'm fine. It's just, I'm a sucker for love."

He leaned back and gazed at Mizuho and Kei.

"I learned to love before I could eat. My parents made sure of it. As such, love is something I put a lot of faith in. And as much as I've traveled, a love like the two of you have is rare indeed."

Moshi shrugged. "Then again, this is the first time I've actually heard of inter-planetary love."

He looked up. "Unless you talked to my crazy neighbor back home. He said he got taken to Roswell and..."

Moshi looked back at the Mizuho and Kei. "Ah. Never mind."

He sat forward again and put the chain around his neck and under his shirt. "So," he said. "What should we do now?"

"Well, if we really are up against Melani, we'll have to be careful." said Mizuho.

Kei turned to his wife. "Why's that?"

Mizuho looked at Kei. "Well, Melani was known throughout the Academy to have some very underhanded techniques. For as much trouble as she caused by cheating or bribes, she was rarely caught. Not enough evidence could be brought forward to punish her."

Mizuho sighed. "And because of that, she's very cocky and arrogant. If she doesn't get her way, she'll throw a tantrum, or go to her brother or husband."

Moshi nodded. "That explains why she tried to attack me when I first met her."

"So, what are we gonna do?" said Kei.

"I think the best thing to do right now is to act normal. Melani has expressed an interest in you, and she'll probably come for you."

"That would make sense." said Mizuho. "The ship part you found is a critical component in any ship. Without it, you're unable to use a few things on the ship, such as teleporters and communications. And what's more, you can't get your ship in the air without that piece. She'll make it priority one to get it back."

"Then how will she deal with getting you, Moshi, and her ship piece back?" said Kei.

Moshi looked towards Kei. "If Melani is a cheating bastard, just like you said, she'll probably have some sort of trump card to make things easier for herself. I've beaten her in a fist fight, so she knows she can't take me on one on one."

"We must force her to reveal herself." said Mizuho.

"And strike while the iron's hot!" said Moshi, grinning. "Sounds like my kind of plan."

Kei looked at Moshi. "What will you do when you get her out in the open?"

Moshi winked. "You leave that to me. But when it's all said and done, that's when I'm going to need you two to help me the most."

"Is it because you don't know how to work a spaceship?" said Kei.

Moshi nodded. "That's part of it."

"But another part is that there will be a gap in the records of the ship. Once the system disc is restored, there will need to be records to fill in the blanks." said Mizuho.

Moshi nodded. "Something like that."

"Then that means we have to be sure that there isn't a scrap of information that she can use to get back at us." said Kei.

Mizhuo nodded and smiled. "You've got it. We'll give her a taste of her own medicine."

Moshi grinned from ear to ear. "This is great. I always liked it when jackasses like Melani get what's coming to them."

Moshi stood up and stretched. "Well, now that's taken care of, may I borrow your kitchen?"

Mizuho and Kei tilted their heads. "What for?" said Kei.

"Well, I figure that since I barged in so early, I would cook some breakfast for you guys. How's that sound?"

Kei nodded. "I think that would be nice."

"Right! Well, I'll be right back then." said Moshi. Without another word, Moshi darted out to the balcony and leapt over the railing. Mizuho and Kei's eyes widened as they ran towards the railing and looked over. He was gone.

Mizuho regulated her breathing. "That was odd." Kei nodded.

"Kei! Catch!"

"Huh?"

Kei held out his arms and caught a small cooler just in time as it was tossed up.

"Coming up!"

Mizuho and Kei stepped back into the house and watched as Moshi pulled himself up with ease. He hopped out of his shoes and carried them in the house with him.

"Uh...Moshi?" said Kei. Moshi turned to Kei. Then looked at the balcony. "Oh." He looked at Mizuho and Kei again. "Victoria lived on the third floor of her house. Whenever she got scared I'd come over. After a bit of time, I learned how to get into her room without ever using the front door. Or any door, for that matter."

Kei nodded. "That makes more sense now."

Moshi took the cooler from Kei's hands and set it down on the kitchen counter. He opened it and began to empty it's contents. He took out a carton of eggs, some sausage, potatoes, half a loaf of bread, and a small spice rack. "I'm gonna treat you guys to my famous, 'Big Breakfast'."

As he grabbed a pot and a few skillets from the cabinet, Kei and Mizuho sat down and watched Moshi prepare the food. He began boiling the potatoes and began to take eggs out of the carton.

"Hey Moshi, tell us more about yourself." said Kei. Mizuho nodded. "Yes. Tell us more about yourself."

Moshi smiled as he turned. "Well...I don't know what to talk about."

"How about how you started traveling like this?" said Mizuho.

Moshi nodded. "That's a good one."

"I guess I should start with how I got the idea to go on an expedition like this one."

He pulled a bowl and a whisk out and set the eggs in the bowl. Then leaned up against the counter.

"About the time I got this tattoo, it occurred to me that there was a lot more to meets the eye. There was more to life than what was right in front of me. So from that point on, I said that I'd save my money to go on a grand adventure."

He looked behind him and checked the potatoes, then looked back at Kei and Mizuho.

"Truth be told, I'm proud to be standing where I am now."

Moshi turned and grabbed a bowl and set it on the counter. Then he pulled a cheese grater from the cooler.

"When I got into the fifth grade, I realized that the trickiest part of my commitment would be money. So, I talked to my dad and asked for help. A few days later, dad said he got me a job to do after school. I got a job as an errand boy for the floor manager of some company."

He looked at the clock on the wall, then back at the potatoes. He poured the water out of the pot, leaving the potatoes in. He put the pot in the fridge and closed the door then walked over to the spice rack and began to pull out a few bottles.

"So, between school, martial arts, and work, I was pretty pressed for time. But I kept pressing on, wanting to achieve my goal."

Moshi looked over to Kei and Mizuho. "What happened next?" said Kei.

"Well, after working for the same guy for three years, I caught the attention of some people. Turns out that some of the people higher up the career ladder needed a guy to get their coffee, run their papers, take their messages, you know, the menial crap."

Moshi smiled. "Turns out it was shorter hours for a better pay, but the workload was heavier. But that really didn't stop me. So, I took the job."

He looked at the clock on the wall, and grabbed the pot with the potatoes in it from the fridge. He pulled one out and began to shred it with the cheese grater.

"I worked for them all throughout high school." He finished shredding one potato. He grabbed another and started working it.

"Graduation came along and I gave my notice. Well, so many appreciated my skills, personality, people skills, and how I'd worked for them for seven years. I got a lot of bonuses when I graduated."

He grabbed a bottle of oil and poured some in one skillet and added some spices to the oil. Moshi then dumped a large amount of shredded potatoes onto the heated skillet. The skillet sizzled and hissed as Moshi pushed the potatoes around with a metal spatula.

"By the time I was ready to leave, I had amassed a small fortune of sorts. I no longer had a job, and I was free to begin my journey."

Moshi quickly whipped some eggs with some spice added in, and poured them onto another skillet. Then he put some sausage on another skillet. Soon, the apartment was filled with an appetizing aroma. Kei and Mizuho couldn't help but sniff the air.

"That smells great, Moshi." said Kei. Mizuho nodded in agreement.

Moshi smiled. "Thanks. It's not often I'd get a chance to cook this, let alone cook it for some friends."

Moshi turned the contents of the skillets diligently.

"Anyway, I've been traveling ever since. I spent a while in Europe before I caught a flight to Japan. So..."

He turned and smiled at Kei and Mizuho. "Here I am."

"That's pretty interesting, Moshi." said Kei. Mizuho nodded in agreement.

"Thanks." Moshi said. He turned around again, his arms full of large serving plates, full of eggs, sausage, hash browns, and some toast.

"But now's not the time for talk. Let's dig in!"

It wasn't long before Mizuho, Kei, and Moshi had began to eat their rather large meal. "Wow! This tastes great!" said Mizuho.

"Yea!" Kei said as he bit into some toast.

Moshi smiled. "Well, eat up. We're gonna need our strength for the times ahead. And what better way to start the day than with a stomach full of good food?"


	9. Chapter 8: Distractions

* * *

Chapter 8: Distractions

* * *

Moshi sat back and smiled. He patted his full belly and looked over at Mizuho and Kei, who had followed suit.

"Ah...Nothing like a full stomach of some great food."

Kei nodded. "That was pretty good. Where'd you learn how to cook that?"

Moshi shrugged. "Family secret."

They sat in silence for a moment before Moshi got up and headed for the sink.

"Oh." said Mizuho. "Don't worry about the dishes."

"Nonsense." Moshi replied. "The dishes are part of the meal. It's the least I could do."

Mizuho and Kei smiled. Moshi began to work in the sink. "So, what are you guys going to do?" he said.

Moshi looked over to Mizuho and Kei. Kei shrugged. "I don't know. We'll probably take a walk. It seems like a nice enough day." Mizuho nodded in approval.

Moshi nodded as he went back to the dishes. "Good idea."

"What about you?" said Kei.

Moshi smiled. "I got a little idea that will keep Melani busy."

"What did you have in mind?" said Mizuho.

Moshi laughed. "A little decoy action." Moshi gave a bit of a laugh. "Now that I think about it, this will totally throw her off."

He turned to Kei and Mizuho. "Just leave it to me." Moshi went back to the dishes, nearly finished.

Mizuho looked at Kei. "You really want to go out on a walk?"

"I don't see why not. It would lighten things up a bit, and I think it would be refreshing just to stretch out." Kei replied.

Mizuho smiled. "All right. We just have to be careful. Well...more careful than usual." Kei nodded.

Moshi finished drying a few dishes and put them back in their respective places. He picked up his tools and set them back in the cooler. Then he picked it up and walked over to Kei and Mizuho.

"Well, I'll be off then. I'll stop by you and let you guys know what's up."

Kei and Mizuho smiled. "All right." said Kei. "We'll be seeing you soon, Moshi." Mizuho added.

Moshi smiled and then walked over to the balcony. Without another word, Moshi vaulted himself over the railing, and out of sight.

Mizuho looked over to Kei. "He's a little odd, isn't he?"

Kei shrugged. "Yea. But he's a great guy."

Mizuho nodded. "Well," she said as she stood up, then smiled. "Should we get ready for the day?"

Kei nodded. Mizuho took his hand, and the two walked off to the bathroom to get ready for the day.

* * *

The downtown area was thriving. The weekend had brought in an interesting wave of tourists. Through the crowd, Koishi and Ichigo were walking, looking at the tourists, and some of them stared back.

Koishi sighed. Ichigo looked over. "What's wrong? Thinking about Kei?"

Koishi blushed. "I...er..."

Ichigo smirked. "I thought so." She looked ahead.

"You've been thinking about him a lot, haven't you?"

"I don't know why?"

"Well, me neither, Koishi. It's been over a year since he told you about that 'someone else'."

Koishi paused and looked at her feet.

_That's true..._

"I would've thought you let things go by now." said Ichigo.

Koishi looked over at Ichigo, flustered. "What if I haven't?"

She threw her arms up in frustration and looked toward the clouds. "Is it my fault if I still have feelings for him!"

People began to stare. Koishi changed her tone, bewildered. "I mean, I know he thinks of me as a friend, but..."

She looked up at Ichigo. "I still think of him as something more."

Koishi put her hand up to her forehead. "God, what am I gonna do?"

Ichigo was about to answer when Koishi tripped over something and went sprawling headfirst into the street.

"Owww..."

Ichigo ran up to her. "Koishi? Are you all right?"

"Oh, damn!"

Ichigo looked back and saw Moshi, knelt down and looking over a sewer cover. Ichigo saw Moshi slide something into his pocket.

"Sorry about that." Moshi stood up.

"Oh, hi Moshi." said Koishi as she looked up.

"Hello." Ichigo said. Moshi smiled and nodded. He held down his hand to Koishi. Koishi grabbed hold and was lifted to her feet with ease.

She brushed herself off and looked at Moshi. "What were you doing over a sewer cover anyway?"

Moshi shrugged. "Just a little experiment."

Koishi gave him a strange look.

"Err...mind if I walk with you two for a bit?" Moshi said as he scratched the back of his head.

Ichigo shrugged. "I don't seem to have a problem with that."

"Fine with me." said Koishi.

Moshi nodded. "Sorry again. I ought to watch where I carry out my experiments."

"It would help." said Koishi.

Moshi shrugged and the three began to walk down the street. After a few moments of silence, Koishi looked up at Moshi.

"Umm, Moshi? Can I ask you a question?" Koishi said.

"Talk to me." said Moshi as he looked at her.

"Well..." she paused for a moment. Moshi tilted his head a little. "How do you deal with love?"

"That's pretty broad." Moshi stood straight. "Be more specific."

Ichigo looked over. "How do you get over feelings for someone?" she said.

Koishi blushed. Moshi smiled. "Hmmm?"

"I have feelings for someone. But he doesn't reflect that. We're still friends, but what should I do if I still have feelings for him?" she said sheepishly.

"Well, letting go of someone you have feelings for is hard. Until recently, I had never let go of the fact that Victoria was really gone." said Moshi.

He reached under his shirt and pulled out the chain with the rings on them. Moshi poked them around in his hand for a second. "You've just got to realize that the person you love has moved on with their life, and the best thing for you to do is to move on with yours."

Moshi shrugged. "Then again, that's what most people think." Ichigo started to lean into Koishi. Koishi sighed. She then looked back up at Moshi. "Well, how did you let go of Victoria?"

Moshi gave a great smile. "Friends. By talking to those closest to you, you can open up things that you were uncomfortable telling anyone else."

He looked back down at the rings. "It takes a lot out of you at first..."

He slid the rings back down his shirt. "But if you learn how to deal with it, you get stronger."

Ichigo nodded. "An interesting way at looking at it."

"And you've got to remember something else!" Moshi yelled with a large smile. Koishi and Ichigo seemed startled and stopped as Moshi took a few steps ahead. Moshi stopped and turned around.

"There's someone out there for everyone. Even though you think that the person you have feelings for is your one and only, you don't know that until you've gotten out into the world and seen it."

He looked at Koishi. "And, what are you, sixteen? Come on, you're pretty young, and already you're binding yourself down to one person."

Moshi leaned in on Koishi. "It's a big world, Koishi. Somewhere, the perfect person for you is out there. Don't think just because one person gives up on you, doesn't mean that there isn't another special someone for you."

Ichigo nodded. Koishi looked down, deep in thought.

"Ah. This is where I break off." said Moshi as he looked down another street. "There are some more materials I need to pick up."

He patted Koishi on the back, who was still in silence. "Just chew the fat, huh? Think about it."

Moshi looked up towards Ichigo and nodded. "Take care, both of you."

And with that, Moshi turned and walked down another street. Ichigo and Koishi continued to walk, but for a few moments, they stood in silence.

"Well..." said Koishi, a tear in her eye. Ichigo looked over at Koishi, who still had her head down.

"What do you think?" she said.

Ichigo shrugged. "Does it matter? Ultimately, you're the one that makes the decision. But I will say this..."

Koishi looked at Ichigo.

"Maybe it just took someone else to say it for you to hear it."

Koishi sighed. "Everyone but me thinks I should get over Kei."

She looked up. "But I still love him."

"Believe me, no one is doubting that." said Ichigo.

"But Kei told you that there was someone else in his life. And as far as we know, nothing has changed with that."

Koishi chuckled. "Then you agree with Moshi? You think there's someone else out there for me?"

Ichigo nodded. "Kei may've been good for you, but you've gotta think that there's someone else out there for you. Like Moshi said, it's a pretty big world. There are plenty of people out there."

Koishi walked in silence. Ichigo gave a smile.

"And there's something else Moshi said that was true."

Koishi looked over to Ichigo. "You've got your friends. And we'll help you get over this."

"Ichigo..."

"I know it'll take some time to get your thoughts together. But whenever you need it, we'll listen."

Koishi slowly smiled.

* * *

Moshi walked down the street, his eyes sweeping the different shops.

_Hope that girl gets her head straight._

He shook his head.

_Heh. Love's a funny thing._

He pulled a piece of paper out of his pocket and ran his eyes over it.

_Now, I've got the measurements. I just need the other materials._

Moshi turned his head just in time to catch a hardware store.

"Perfect!"

* * *

"What can I get for you today?"

Moshi leaned on the counter. "I'm looking for some spray paint, aluminum foil, and plaster."


	10. Chapter 9: Disrupted

Disclaimer:

Please Teacher is not my property. I did not create any of the characters except Moshi and Melani and Sirus.

("I") Denotes dialogue

("_I_") Denotes thought

* * *

Chapter 9: Disrupted

* * *

The grass of the fields swayed from the slight breezes.

Kei and Mizuho laid in the grass, hand in hand, staring up at the clouds.

Kei laughed. "That one looks kinda like a rabbit."

He pointed up at one of the clouds. Mizuho tilted her head a few inches and then started to giggle.

"You're right!"

The two started to laugh.

After a few seconds, the two calmed down and looked back up at the clouds.

Kei's mind began to wander. His thoughts slowly drifted back to the dream he had about Mizuho.

_What does it mean? Could the unthinkable happen?_

He slowly turned his head and looked at Mizuho, who was still staring at the clouds.

_Could she be..._

Kei stared back up at the clouds.

_No! I won't let it happen...It can't...Otherwise..._

He swallowed a lump in his throat and shook his head.

_Wait...What am I saying? We're gonna get through this._

A smile slowly spread across his face.

Kei sighed. "I'm so glad we can laugh like this."

Mizuho looked over at Kei. "What do you mean?"

Kei looked back at her, staring into her eyes. The two just kept silence until they leaned in and kissed each other. After a few moments, they pulled away and stood up.

"Let's go." said Mizuho, smiling.

Kei smiled back.

The two grasped each other's hand. Mizuho tried taking a step, but was jerked back as Kei stood his ground.

Mizuho looked back at Kei. "Kei? Is something wrong?"

Kei gazed at his wife. "Mizuho, I won't let anything happen to you."

Mizuho smiled. She stroked his face and then kissed him. The two then began to walk down the road.

"It really is a nice day for a walk, isn't it?" said Kei.

Mizuho nodded. "You're right. It's on a day like this that you can forget about all of your problems. It feels like you can reach up and touch the clouds."

Kei looked around the fields. Not a person in sight.

"I like it out here." Kei said. "It's peaceful, quiet..."

"The perfect place for us." said Mizuho. "It's our private area."

Kei nodded. "Nobody ever comes out here anyway."

Mizuho looked ahead. "I wouldn't be so sure about that."

"Hmmmm?"

Kei looked ahead.

Walking down the road alone was a man, dressed in a shimmering white. He wore a white trenchcoat, white button up shirt, white pants and white shoes. Even his hair was the same color of white as his clothing. He walked with his hands in his pockets.

"That's odd." said Kei.

"Yeah. Odd to see someone walking down these roads, especially someone who isn't from around here." Mizuho said.

"You'd think we would remember someone like him is he lived around here." said Kei.

The two kept walking, looking at the man. The man didn't pay much attention. As they were about to pass each other, the man in white stumbled.

He grabbed onto Kei and kept himself from falling.

"Are you all right?" said Kei.

The man smiled and nodded. "Yea. Sorry 'bout that."

He stood up. "Thanks for the hand, buddy. Would've messed up my duds if I fell."

"Not at all." said Kei, looking at the man.

The man straightened himself up and stood straight. "Thanks again." he said.

"What are you doing walking around out here anyway?" said Kei.

The man smiled. "I needed a bit of time to myself. This is pretty scenic anyway."

"I can see why a lovely couple like yourself would be out here." he said.

He began to walk away. "Hope you folks have a nice day."

"You too." said Mizuho.

Kei and Mizuho turned and began to walk. Kei put his hand in his pocket and felt something.

"What the..."

Kei pulled out a sealed envelope. Mizuho looked down at the envelope.

"How did you get that?"

Kei shrugged and turned his head, looking for the man in white. However, he was nowhere to be seen.

"Did he..."

"Kei, look." said Mizuho, pointing at the front of the envelope.

Kei looked at the envelope. He wasn't sure if it wasn't there before or if he didn't notice it, but written on the front was, "Moshi".

"Who was that guy?"

* * *

Moshi sat in his room held the disc in his hands, smiling.

"This turned out pretty well. Better than I expected."

He put it in his backpack, along with a black bottle marked with a red "X".

_Gotta be careful. This stuff is..._

Moshi put the bottle under his bed with his other belongings.

"I oughta go show this to Kei and Mizuho. I think they'd like my work."

Moshi walked over to the window and opened it, peering out.

_Perfect day for a walk._

Moshi hopped out of the window and landed on his feet. He began to walk down the road, making his way to Kei and Mizuho's place.

Moshi looked around a bit. The streets were empty.

_Odd. It's awfully quiet today. I wonder..._

His mind began to wander. Then he heard something.

Footsteps, but it didn't sound like a regular shoe.

"Hmm?"

Moshi turned his head and his ears perked up.

They were getting closer, and closer.

Moshi's eyes widened as he moved his head.

Something whooshed over his head, then something struck him in the gut.

Moshi rolled on the ground and onto his knee, staring at the area where he was just attacked.

There was nothing there.

_What the...!_

Moshi heard something approach again, and he heard something coming at him.

He dodged and ducked, having the invisible assailant miss every attack. Moshi bounced back up to his feet, waiting for the attack.

It came, though this time, Moshi swayed out of the way, gripped the attacker's arm, and threw them down. Moshi then stomped down on the invisible attacker, only to hear a metallic thud.

Moshi paused. His foot fell to the ground, and Moshi bounced back. He listened intently again and started to fumble through his backpack.

"Where is it, dammit?"

He heard the steps again. Moshi dug through his backpack faster.

"There!"

The attacker threw his punch as Moshi, with one fluid motion, drew out Melani's energy baton and struck the attack. A field of electricity surround the attacker, giving away a slight silhouette.

Moshi paused, gripping the baton still, staring at the figure. After a few seconds, the attacker began to phase into view.

Sirus stood, looking like it was staring at Moshi.

"Impressive. The attacks of the energy baton is well enough to disrupt my cloaking technology." said Sirus, monotonously.

Moshi tilted his head. "Well, I guess Melani isn't as dumb as I thought."

"I'm going to have to ask you not to insult my master again." Sirus said.

"Well, I'm going to have to say screw you too. I find it insulting that your 'master' would send someone other than herself to do her dirty work."

_Mizuho wasn't kidding._

"It is my programming that allows me to do this. I gladly serve Officer Serrac, no matter what the task."

"Perfect. Obeying undyingly, never questioning the motives. I guess that works for a robot."

Moshi's ears perked up. He looked down the street.

_Someone's coming._

Sirus didn't say a word, but leapt away. His cloaking functioned again, and he blurred out of existence. He turned back to look for Moshi, but he was nowhere to be seen.

_He's fast. Very fast. This will be more difficult than calculated._

* * *

Moshi was breathing a little heavily. He was hidden behind some bushes, rubbing his belly.

_Good thing that the training vest was on. That hit could've hurt a lot more._

He caught his breath and listened.

_Hmmm...Looks like I lost him. The robot seems like he doesn't want to be detected. So if I'm in a group, I probably will be all right._

Moshi stood up and darted his head back and forth, then dashed down the street.

After a minute or two, Moshi finally made it to the Mizuho and Kei's building. He bounced around the corner and jumped up to the kitchen window.

With ease, Moshi swung through the window, landing in the living room. He turned and looked back out the window, staring down at the ground.

"Good. It didn't follow me."

Moshi looked over to the balcony to see Mizuho leaning on the railing.

"Ah! Excellent."

He pulled the disc out of his backpack, and spun it in his hands.

"I got done with my project, Mizuho. Thought you and Kei might..."

He stopped and paused. After a moment or two, he spoke again.

"Wait...You're not Mizuho."


	11. Chapter 10: Meet My Family

Disclaimer:

Please Teacher is not my property. I did not create any of the characters except Moshi and Melani.

("I") Denotes dialogue

("_I_") Denotes thought

* * *

Chapter 10: Meet My Family

* * *

Moshi tilted his head.

"Well, just who are you?"

The woman chuckled a bit.

"It's odd for people to know that I'm not Mizuho."

She turned around. "I'm utterly imp..."

The woman ran her eyes over Moshi.

"Oh...You must be Moshi." she said, smiling.

Moshi nodded. "Yea, I am. Who are you?"

She began to walk towards him. "Mizuho told me you were helping her, but she never told me what a stud you were."

"I would like to think that she doesn't think of me that way, seeing as that she's already married." said Moshi.

The woman chuckled a bit.

"Now, who are you?" said Moshi.

The woman smiled. "I'm Hatsuho Kazami. I'm Mizuho's mother."

Moshi nodded. "All right. Do you know when the two of them are gonna be around?"

As Hatsuho was about to answer, Moshi ducked down just in time to avoid a blast coming from his side.

Moshi looked over and saw a little girl, her arms crossed and shooting a deathly cold glare at Moshi.

"Miruru, fire again!"

Moshi jumped out of the way of another blast and jumped out of the window.

"Maho, was that really necessary?"

Maho ran over to the window and looked down. "He's the one that started this whole mess! He should be shot!"

Moshi was no where to be seen. Maho pounded her fist on the railing."Ah! Where did he go?"

* * *

Moshi stood on the roof and looked over the edge, shaking his head at Maho.

"Why does everyone have an urge to shoot me?"

He concentrated for a second, listening to what was happening below him.

After a few seconds, he shrugged, slid down the roof and hopped through the window.

Hatsuho leaned against the bathroom door. Maho banged the door from the other side.

"Let me out, mom!"

Hatsuho shook her head. She looked over at Moshi.

"Now...where were we?"

Moshi swallowed a bit of a lump in his throat. "You know, I think it would be best if I..."

Too late.

Hatsuho grabbed a hold of Moshi's shirt and began to unbutton it.

"Umm...Hatsuho?"

She pulled off Moshi's shirt, revealing a black vest that looked like it held a bunch of training weights.

Hatsuho grinned as Moshi tried to pull away.

"That explains a few things."

She undid a few straps and the vest slid off and hit the ground. Moshi again tried to pull away, but Hatsuho blocked him again.

"Oh my god..."

Hatsuho's eyes widened in awe as she gazed at Moshi's exposed torso. He had a perfectly chiseled body, complete with perfect abs, that looked like it was made from polished marble.

"Incredible..."

* * *

"Well, that was pretty odd." said Kei.

Mizuho and Kei walked down the road near their house.

"What, the man in white?" said Mizuho.

Kei nodded. "It also seems pretty weird that he would give us something for Moshi. I wonder who he was..."

Mizuho shrugged a bit. They came into the view of their home.

"I wonder if mother's home." said Mizuho.

Seconds after she spoke, Moshi soared out of the window and skidded to a halt on the road.

He was topless and he was holding his pants up with one hand.

"You can have the shirt, Hatsuho!"

Moshi buttoned up his pants, and pulled another button-up shirt out of his pocket. Within a few seconds, Moshi had put a shirt identical to the one he usually wore.

He sighed as Hatsuho leaned from the balcony, just gazing at Moshi, his shirt in her hands.

Kei and Mizuho ran up to Moshi.

"Moshi, are you all right?" said Kei.

Moshi nodded. "Yea. I just ran into your mother-in-law."

He chuckled. "She seems really forward."

Kei and Mizuho hung their heads.

"Yes." they said in unison.

Mizuho looked back up in horror.

"Oh no! What did she do to you!"

Moshi shrugged. "She stole my shirt."

Kei looked up as well. "Really?"

Moshi laughed and nodded. "You'd be surprised as to how many times that's happened to me."

He looked towards the clouds and put his hands in his pockets. "But it's a rare occasion when I get shot at when something like that happens."

Mizuho sighed. "Maho..."

"That brings back some painful memories." said Kei.

"I'm sorry, Moshi." said Mizuho.

He shrugged. "Don't worry about it."

"But anyway," Moshi continued. "I've got some things to share with you two."

* * *

Moshi was leaning against the wall with his hands in his pockets while Mizuho, Kei, Hatsuho, and Maho sat on the sofas.

"So, you got attacked by a robot?" said Mizuho.

Moshi nodded. "It had some sort of active camouflage. If someone hadn't come along, it would've turned ugly."

Hatsuho leaned back and stretched. "That sounds like Melani. I think I heard that the robot she has was given to her by her husband, or brother, or both, as a gift. She always hides it on her ship, so it never shows up on inventory reports. She'll use that for her dirty work and then take credit for actually doing it herself."

She turned to Mizuho. "Makes me wonder how she even got a license."

"Everyone knows she's dirty. But nobody has ever brought evidence to prove it." said Mizuho.

"She seems like the type that covers her tracks pretty well." said Moshi. "I mean, if she's been doing so many shady things all of these years, she's got to have a few tricks up her sleeves."

He smiled. "And we can use that against her."

"What do you mean by that?" said Kei.

"If we can corner Melani and get evidence that she really is dirty, we use that as insurance to make sure she never comes back again."

Maho frowned. "You're going to blackmail her?"

Moshi shrugged. "If you want to put it that way..."

"I like the idea." said Hatsuho. "Melani will get a taste of her own medicine."

"All right. But what do we use to do that?" said Mizuho.

Kei smiled. "Why not grab a piece of her robot?"

All eyes were on Kei.

"You guys said it yourselves. If it wasn't included in any reports, wouldn't it be illegal?"

Hatusho smiled. "That's our Kei."

Moshi looked towards the ceiling. "Part of the robot, huh?"

He looked back at everyone. "Leave it all to me."

"Oh, and I had something else." said Moshi. He reached over and pulled up the disc. He handed to Mizuho.

"This is the diversion I was talking about."

Mizuho looked at the disc, as did everyone else.

"Moshi, this is what Melani's been looking for." said Kei.

Moshi shook his head. "Flip it over."

Mizuho flipped the disc over and saw the word "SEWER" barely legible.

"What did..." said Hatsuho.

"I switched part of a sewer cap and switched it with the disc. What you're holding is actually part of the manhole cover I picked."

Kei looked at Moshi. "So part of the sewer lid is actually the disc?"

Moshi nodded. "That's the plan. I used plaster to blend it in to the cover, so you couldn't tell which is which."

"Where did you hide the disc?" said Mizuho.

"It's in the city square, smack dab in the middle." said Moshi.

He smiled. "That ought to keep her busy."

"But, now the fun starts. I'm gonna keep hold of this disc. That way, we can keep her off your backs."

He pushed off the wall and stood straight. Mizuho gave him the disc.

"In the meantime, you guys oughta find a place to hole up for a while. With things getting hectic like this, it would be best if you guys hid out somewhere until things calm down, or at least until I get the robot taken care of."

"What makes you think that you can take down a robot with your bare hands?" said Maho.

Moshi just smiled. "Don't worry about it."

He turned and went over the balcony. "Anyway, get underground quick. My opponent awaits."

He looked over at Kei. "Hey, Kei, come here for a second."

"Sure." Kei said. He got up and walked over to Moshi. Mizuho, Hatsuho, and Maho got up and began to prepare things. Moshi slide something into Kei's hands.

Kei looked down. It was Melani's energy baton.

"If something goes wrong..." said Moshi, looking at Kei.

Kei just nodded.

"Oh, Moshi," said Mizuho. She walked up with the letter in her hand. "This is for you."

Moshi took the letter and held it. He chuckled a bit and slid it into his pocket. "Thanks."

"See you guys soon."

Moshi leapt from the balcony and into the night.

Kei walked over to the bedroom and hugged Mizuho from behind.

"It looks like things are finally turning around for us."

Mizuho smiled. "Yes. We figured out a way to get out of this, and with Moshi's help, it looks like we can do it."

She turned around and embraced Kei. "I'm so glad that we got through this, Kei."

Kei nodded. The two were about to lean in for a kiss when Kei's ears perked up.

Mizuho tilted her head. "Are you all right?"

"I don't know...I thought I heard something..."

Kei and Mizuho walked back to the living room and onto the balcony. They peered over the edge.

After a few seconds, Kei shrugged. "I don't know, maybe it was my imagination."

Mizuho smiled.

Then, a look of horror swept over Kei's face. Before Mizuho had a chance to act, a wire shot through the air and wrapped around Kei's torso.

Mizuho gasped and reached for the wire, but Kei was pulled off of the balcony and into the trees.

"Kei! No!" Mizuho yelled, leaning over the balcony.

"What happened!" said Hatsuho as Mizuho ran back in the house.

"Kei was taken! Melani's taken him!" Mizuho yelled back. She ran towards the door.

"Go somewhere safe, and find Moshi and tell him what's happened!" said Mizuho.

Maho stamped her foot. "Where are you going!"

Mizuho looked back. "I'm going to get him back."

Without another word, Mizuho jerked the door open and bolted down the stairs.

Hatusho closed the door, and locked it. Then, she walked over to Maho.

"Miruru, lock on our location and bring us to the bridge."

Maho and Hatsuho became enveloped in a bright light. After a few seconds, they were gone.

* * *

Moshi leaned against a lamp post, fidgeting with his backpack.

He slid the disc back into his backpack and swung it over his shoulder, then slid his hands into his pockets.

_Odd._

Moshi pushed off of the post and looked up and down the streets, watching and listening intently.

_About this time, I'd be getting attack by something, but..._

He looked back down the street leading to Kei and Mizuho's house.

"Hmmmmm..."

He dug deeper into his pocket and pulled out the envelope.

_While I'm waiting..._

Moshi opened the envelope and pulled out two pieces of paper. After a few minutes of reading, he lowered the paper and nodded.

_As soon as I'm done here, huh?_

Moshi looked up and down the streets again.

"Something's wrong."

"You're right." Moshi turned around and saw Hatsuho in her jumpsuit.

Moshi raised an eyebrow. "What happened?"

"Kei was abducted by Melani."

"Really?"

Hatsuho nodded. "Mizuho went after her, but it might've been just an opportunity to lure her out. I'm really worried about her."

Moshi nodded. "I'll make sure nothing happens to them."

With that, Moshi dashed down the street.

Hatsuho was enveloped in light again, and disappeared a few seconds later.


	12. Chapter 11: POW

Disclaimer:

Please Teacher is not my property. I did not create any of the characters except Moshi, Melani and Sirus.

("I") Denotes dialogue

("_I_") Denotes thought

("**I**") Denotes song

* * *

Chapter 11: P.O.W.

* * *

Kei was thrown to the ground and groaned in pain. Melani and Sirus stood over him, and Melani had a smile on her face.

"This is perfect."

She grabbed Kei's shirt and pulled him back up to his feet. Kei felt like he could slump down again, but he was held up by Melani, who was staring right into his eyes.

"I know Mizuho wouldn't leave her husband to die. So, I'm waiting for her to arrive!"

Melani tossed Kei into a tree, and he slid all the way down. Melani smiled as she looked towards the clearing in the trees on the outskirts of town.

"As soon as she steps into that clearing..."

She began to laugh. Sirus looked over to the clearing as well. Melani turned to Kei and squatted down to his level.

"Now, where's the disk?"

"I don't know..."

Melani back-handed Kei, who clutched the side of his head in pain.

"Where's the disk, Kei? The longer this goes on, the worse its going to get for you."

Kei shook his head. "I don't know where the disk is."

Melani slapped him again, with more force than the last hit.

"I can do this all night, or at least until your wife gets here."

Kei gritted his teeth.

"If you lay a hand on her..."

Melani began to laugh. "What could you possibly do to me? Until Mizuho hooked up with you, you couldn't stand on your own damn feet. And at this point, you're as defenseless as you were when you were single."

She threw a punch that caught Kei in the stomach and immediately stole the air from his lungs. Kei fell to his side, gasping for air and holding his abdomen. Melani grabbed Kei by his shirt and sat him back up straight. She stared tight at him.

"Where is it, Kei?"

"I don't know!"

Melani sighed and slowly stood up. Kei just looked down at the ground, then caught Melani's got in his chest. Kei began to cough and hunched over.

Melani stomped off a few feet.

"What is it with you humans? I mean, you'll be blindly defiant against something that is inevitable."

She kicked Kei in the chest again.

"You worm!"

Kei coughed again, and tasted blood in the back of his mouth. Melani stopped and turned to look down at Kei again.

"Are you gonna start cooperating?"

There was silence. Melani growled in anger stamped her foot.

"That's it! If you don't tell me where the disc is, I'm going to beat the hell out of you and your wife, then I'm going to take you back with me and throw you into confinement. And you'll never see your wife again."

Kei's mind raced as his eyes began to well up.

_Mizuho..._

Just as he finished that thought, he saw someone running up out of the corner of his eye.

It was Mizuho.

"Kei!"

Melani turned, grinning.

"Mizuho, stop! It's a trap!" Kei yelled.

Mizuho kept running and entered the clearing. As soon as she got to the center, bolts of electricity shot out from the surrounding trees and struck Mizuho on the spot. She screamed in agony for what Kei thought was an eternity. The clearing was lit up and Mizuho's rigid figure could be seen. Kei screamed at the top of his lungs, tears streaming down his face.

"STOP!"

But his voice went unheard. After a few more seconds, the electricity stopped, and Mizuho slumped down to her hands and knees, breathing heavily. Kei got up and tried to run to Mizuho.

As Kei tried to run, Melani pushed him back down.

"Kei..." Mizuho moaned as she collapsed.

"Mizuho..." whispered Kei.

Melani walked over and picked up Mizuho. She then walked over to a tree and placed her up against it.

Melani placed one hand on Mizuho's shoulder to keep her standing.

"Your husband didn't tell me, so I'll ask you." said Melani. "Where is the disc?"

"I don't know, Melani." said Mizuho.

Melani drew her fist back and was about to punch Mizuho in the head, when Kei yelled again.

"STOP!"

Melani lowered her fist and smiled.

_I'm sorry, Moshi..._

"Moshi has it." said Kei.

Melani nodded. "Finally let up, huh?"

She looked up. "Marsha, lock on to my location and move Kei and Mizuho to a holding cell."

Mizuho's eyes widened in horror. Kei pounded his hand to the ground. "What!"

Melani grinned. "I never said I'd let you go." She then turned her head to Mizuho.

"Time to go back home, Mizuho. It's over for you."

Kei began to stand up and then felt something in his pocket. He slowly pulled out the energy baton Moshi gave him.

The light started to swallow the surroundings.

Kei didn't give it a second thought.

**Walk like a man**

He quickly pounced up to his feet and rushed towards Melani. She looked to her side but didn't react. Kei raised the baton over his head and brought it down every part of his body.

**Talk like a man**

"LET HER GO!"

It struck Melani in the neck. She yelped and seized up, then fell onto her back.

**Walk like a man**

Mizuho was in awe as Kei grabbed her hand and they ran into the woods.

**You can call me your man!**

Melani slowly began to move again. "Marsha! Cancel your last order!"

The light subsided as Melani slowly began to stand up.

**Little girl asked me what am I gonna do when I'm old and blue and worn clear through. I said, by the time I'm supposed to be in my prime, I'm gonna strut like a cock until I'm ninety-nine!**

"Sirus! What the..."

"I apologize, Officer Serrac, but I'm afraid that the static web you set down for Mizuho disabled my motor functions. They will return to normal in a moment."

**I'm gonna walk like a man**

Melani rubbed her neck and glared towards the woods.

**Talk like a man**

"A moment is not soon enough, Sirus!"

**Walk like a man**

Sirus began to move again. "Now, get the two of them!"

"What about Moshi?"

"Don't worry about him right now. Kei and Mizuho are within my grasp, and I don't want to let them get away!"

**You can call me your man!**

-------

Kei and Mizuho dashed through the trees back on to the streets near downtown.

The stopped for a second and the two embraced each other.

"Kei!"

Kei held Mizuho tightly. "Mizuho, are you all right?"

Mizuho nodded. "That static web wore off after a few seconds."

"Thank god..."

They heard something coming through the woods. Mizuho looked back.

"Oh no."

Kei grabbed Mizuho's hand and began to lead her down the streets. The two ran as fast as they could. Mizuho looked back as they ran. Sirus had just emerged from the growth and was bearing down on them like a mad bull.

The two began to speed up and wheeled around the corners, running as fast as they could. They kept on the sidewalk near a brick wall.

"He's getting close, Kei!"

Kei's mind raced. Sirus had finally caught up and was nipping at their heels.

Then, Sirus was driven through the wall. A cloud of dust billowed out form the side.

There were some sounds of the wall crumbling and something pounding against metal as the dust circulated. Then, something jumped out of the dust.

It was Moshi.

He skidded back a few feet.

"Mizuho, Kei, are you all right?"

"Yea. Thanks, Moshi." said Kei.

Moshi shook his head. "Thank me later. Right now, start running. I'll keep the bucket of bolts busy. Just start running somewhere safe, and don't teleport anywhere. Hatsuho told me that Melani found a way to put up something that interferes with the destination."

Mizuho nodded. She and Kei turned and began to run down the streets and out of sight.

Moshi put his hands in his pockets and looked over his shoulder to make sure that his backpack was still intact, and it was.

A few seconds later, Melani wheeled around the corner. Moshi turned his head towards her.

"Ah, right on time."

Melani ran over to the hole in the wall. Her jaw dropped as the dust settled.

Sirus lay on a pile of bricks with his left leg yanked off, his bent at an odd angle, and both of his arms dangling from the sockets.

Melani jerked her head towards Moshi.

"How..."

Moshi shrugged. "My little secret."

She gave a nervous laugh. "Well...um...yea...I want the damn disc back!"

"I don't think you're in a place to be making demands, Melani." said Moshi. "You don't stand a chance in a fist fight with me."

"And without your little vibrator," he said, nodding towards Sirus. "I fail to see how you'll be able to do anything else."

Sirus then began to move. He shoved the arm back into it's socket, and moved it with ease. Then he pulled his legs back in, and they began to function normal as well. Melani gave another nervous laugh.

"I stand corrected." Moshi said. "Oh well. If you want the disc, come and get it!"

He spun and dashed into the woods.

Melani began to fill with rage. She clenched her fist. "The nerve of that..."

She heard metallic footsteps behind her. She turned and saw Sirus walking down the street.

"What are you doing?"

Sirus stopped and turned. "Following orders."

A vein in Melani's head bulged. "Forget those two. With the barrier I put up, she won't be able to get to her ship yet. Cancel those orders. Our target right now is Moshi."

Sirus turned and began to dash towards the woods.

"As you wish."

The robot began to cut the path, and Melani ran in his wake.


	13. Chapter 12: Turnover

Disclaimer: 

Please Teacher is not my property. I did not create any of the characters except Moshi, Melani and Sirus.

("I") Denotes dialogue

* * *

Chapter 12: Turnover

* * *

Branches were smashed to splinters as Sirus plowed through the growths in the trees.

Melani trailed behind him, growling to herself. "This is unbelievable!"

"What is, Officer Serrac?" said Sirus, not deterring from his path.

Melani shook her head. "Things have gotten out of control!"

She shook her head in anger. "This was supposed to be a simple mission. Bag some fugitives, grab a part, go home, and get an award."

"Instead, I've got to run through the woods, chasing after a pure annoyance who has the one thing I need to get back home."

She looked up at Sirus while both of them were still walking. "Speaking of which, how far is that bastard? We need to crush him, now."

"I'm tracking him the best I can." said Sirus. "Somehow, he is eluding my sensors."

Melani raised an eyebrow and gritted her teeth. "That doesn't seem possible!"

"I really can't explain it." said Sirus. "But the trail ends, right..."

The two stopped in the middle of a clearing.

"Here."

Melani looked around and shook with anger.

"Officer Serrac, are you all right?"

* * *

Mizuho and Kei were out of breath, and the two fell to their knees, panting.

Gasping for air, Kei slowly tried to stand up and looked at Mizuho.

"Mizuho...are you...all right?" he said, panting.

Mizuho couldn't speak, but simply nodded her head.

Kei looked back up, still catching his breath. "I think we lost them...for the most part."

"I...hope that...Moshi...is all right." said Mizuho.

The two panted for a little while longer before the both stood up, breathing normally.

Kei turned to Mizuho. "Mizuho, I-"

But in the middle of his thought, Mizuho jumped over and planted a deep kiss on Kei.

For what seemed like an eternity, Kei and Mizuho shared a deep, and passionate kiss.

After they finally pulled away, Kei gazed at Mizuho, who held his face in front of hers.

"Kei...that was the bravest thing I've ever seen you done." she said, a tear running down her cheek.

He smiled at her, and she smiled back. The two embraced each other and then took each other's hands.

"Let's finish this, Mizuho. Melani is going down!" said Kei. Mizuho nodded.

The two then began to run down the street towards their home.

"What do we have to do now?" said Kei.

Mizuho looked over. "We've got to get in contact with Mother. Once we do that, we'll make sure we can get somewhere safe, and then form another plan."

* * *

Melani sneezed as she kicked a few flowers.

"Dammit." she muttered as she stomped the ground.

She turned her head towards Sirus, who was looking all over the place.

"Any luck yet!" she yelled.

"Negative. I haven't been able to detect any trace of Moshi." Sirus replied.

Melani growled again. "How can he do this!" she threw a rock into the brush.

"It's like he's a ghost." she said. Then she paused.

Melani turned towards where she threw the rock. "It didn't land..."

"Sirus! I fou-"

She was interrupted as she fell back to avoid the same rock she had thrown.

The rock flew through the air and struck Sirus in the head, denting it.

Melani scrambled up and charged into the brush. "I've got you now!"

She laughed to herself, but was then filled with fright. Melani ran directly into a hunched over Moshi. She was stopped dead in her tracks and was flung up and over Moshi.

Melani landed on her back and groaned in pain.

Sirus looked over. "Officer Serrac?"

Moshi leapt up and kicked off of trees, gaining momentum. Sirus stood ready to counter.

Moshi kicked off a tree, and proceed to spin like a drill intent on hitting Sirus.

Sirus was caught a little off guard and flinched.

Almost miraculously, Moshi changed his course and struck Sirus in the lower abdomen with his head, sending him flying back into the trees and denting a large portion of his body.

Moshi stood up and shook his head. "Haven't done that one in a while." he said. He tightened his backpack straps.

By this time, Melani had forced herself back up and charged at Moshi. Sirus had also recovered and began to move towards him.

Moshi shrugged and dashed off into the brush.

Melani and Sirus met in the middle of the clearing again.

"After him!" yelled Melani.

* * *

Mizuho and Kei charged through the door to their apartment, with Kei slamming it shut and locking it behind him.

Mizuho went right to work and grabbed her console, opened it, and began to type.

Kei walked over to the balcony and looked out the window. "Nobody's coming." he said.

"All right." said Mizuho.

A screen popped up on her console and a static image of Hatsuho appeared.

"Miz...are you..."

Mizuho stared back on the screen. "Mother? What's wrong?"

"Lo...like...device...Not...sour...Mel...i..."

"Melani put a scrambler..." said Mizuho.

Hatsuho's figure nodded.

Mizuho sighed. "What about teleporting?"

Hatsuho shook her head.

"No...unsu...destin...tion...I'll...some..hing...J...ait..."

Mizuho nodded. "All right."

The window disappeared.

Kei looked over at Mizuho.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

Mizuho looked up at Kei. "I think that Melani put up a device that messes with transmissions and teleporting. I think Mother said that she was going to work something out."

"All right." said Kei, nodding.

The two looked out the balcony window, waiting.

* * *

Melani and Sirus ran through the trees.

"We're almost to him." said Sirus.

"Good." said Melani.

After a bit more, the two made it to a rather large creek.

Sirus stopped and Melani followed suit.

"Don't tell me..." groaned Melani.

Sirus looked around. "His trail ends here."

Melani began to curse. Sirus walked forward and picked up a backpack from the ground in front.

As she was about to punch something, Melani recognized the backpack.

"That's Moshi's!"

She yanked the backpack and rummaged through it. Melani pulled out the disc and a grin slowly spread across her face.

"I've got it...finally...I-"

Melani was jumping up and down until she saw something on the disc.

It was the word "SEWER", barely legible.

The disc was thrown to the ground as she yelled in agony.

"THAT BASTARD!"

She gripped her hair. "Just when I think..."

Then, Melani stopped. She looked over at the disc.

"That means, he switched the disc with a sewer lid!"

Melani looked up at Sirus. "All right. Sirus, go after Mizuho. I'm going to retrieve the disc. Meet up at the ship. If Moshi resurfaces, focus your efforts on him."

She began to walk away. "Once he is gone, Kei and Mizuho will fall easily."

"Yes, Officer Serrac." Sirus replied. Sirus then began to cut his own path through the trees.

After about ten minutes had passed, bubbles began to rise from the center of the creek.

A sopping wet Moshi crawled up the bank and took a deep breath. He stood up and looked at the disk.

"So, she figured it out..."

He looked over to Sirus's path. "I've gotta get to Mizuho and Kei."

* * *

Kei looked out the window again.

"Why do you keep doing that?" said Mizuho.

Kei looked back. "Because Melani know's where we live."

"I just want to make sure nobody is coming." he said, looking back.

Mizuho nodded. "Good thinking."

"Any word from Hatsuho yet?"

"Not yet." Mizuho replied.

Kei walked over to Mizuho. She reached up and held his hand.

"We're gonna be all right, Kei." she said, smiling.

He smiled back. "Yeah, I know."

Kei walked back over to the window and peered out.

"Between you, me, Maho, Hatsuho, and Moshi we..."

He stopped, his eyes widened. Kei dashed over to Mizuho and grabbed her arm.

"What's wrong?"

"It's Sirus!"

Mizuho didn't need any encouragement. She hopped up and ran with Kei to the door.

They flew down the stairs and picked up speed when they hit the street.

Kei looked behind and saw a very large figure bearing down on the them.

"Kei, look!" yelled Mizuho, pointing ahead.

Dashing at them was Moshi, who was now dry. He leapt up and over Kei and Mizuho.

They stopped to look at him, and he turned his head and smiled.

Kei and Mizuho rushed off, dashing off to the plains.

Moshi stood up and looked towards Sirus.

"Looks like it's just you and me, Mr. Roboto."

Sirus slowed down and faced Moshi.

"So it would seem."

Moshi popped his knuckles. "This oughta be fun."

* * *

Melani cursed to herself as she staggered through the streets. She was wet and dirty, and filled with frustration.

"Fell into a damn..."

She stumbled forward and fell flat on her face.

Melani popped her head up and glared at a manhole cover ahead of her. She slowly clawed her way up and hobbled over to the lid and fell to her knees.

"This had better be it." she growled.

Melani pried the cover up and rolled it to the side. Then she dropped it back down.

Almost instantly, a section of the lid popped out. Melani paused.

"I fell into a sewer...for this..."

She grabbed the section of the lid and began to brush it off. It began to shine.

After a few mintues of wiping away paint, Melani held up the disc, smiling.

"Yes! I've finally got it!" she said victoriously.

Melani stood up and began to hobble towards the trees again.

"Marsha, take me back to the ship."

For a few seconds, Melani was enveloped in light, and after the light had subsided, she had vanished.

* * *

Moshi skidded back after he blocked a huge kick from Sirus.

He stood straight up and looked at Sirus.

"You know, I think we should take this somewhere else." he said, shrugging. "Wouldn't want anyone to get hurt."

"I'd agree to that." Sirus replied.

Without warning, Moshi turned and dashed through the grass, heading for the trees. Sirus bolted off, directly behind him.

As they ran, Kei and Mizuho popped up from the tall grass. Not making a sound, they began to crept toward their house.

"Think he'll be all right?" said Mizuho.

Kei shrugged. "So far, he has been."

Mizuho shrugged a bit. The two crept up the stairs back up to their apartment.

Kei looked back down at the stairs and then looked at Mizuho. "How do you know Sirus won't come back?"

She looked towards Kei. "Because Melani is hunting for Moshi more than us. She knows that if Moshi is gone, we'll be easier to get to."

The two made it into the apartment. Kei looked out the window again as Mizuho went over to her console, which was beeping.

Mizuho activated the console. A screen appeared, and Melani appeared, battered and bruised, but smiling.

"Hey, Mizuho."

Mizuho frowned. "What do you want, Melani?"

Melani's smile grew. "I just would like to tell you that I've gotten my disc back, I've already installed it in my ship, and my robot is on his way to pick up that useless friend of yours."

Kei looked over.

"And once he's done, you're next."

* * *

Moshi and Sirus circled a clearing, staring each other down.

"You're more human than a robot." said Moshi.

He shrugged. "Is it the programming?"

"Among other things. But it's not just that."

Moshi shrugged. "What do you mean by that?"

Sirus stopped. "Melani's dirty tricks know no bounds." he said, turning his head.

"I am the result of underhanded methods."

Then he looked at Moshi.

"I was once a man. A soldier." replied Sirus.

Moshi paused. "What?"


	14. Chapter 13: Axe and Chainsaw

Disclaimer: 

Please Teacher is not my property. I did not create any of the characters except Moshi, Melani and Sirus.

("I") Denotes dialogue

("_I_") Denotes thought

* * *

Chapter 13: Axe and Chainsaw

* * *

Moshi stared on.

"Well...er...so many questions."

"Allow me to elaborate." said Sirus.

"Thirteen years ago, I was enrolled into the military. After basic training, I was put under the command of Captain Lukas Serrac."

"Melani's brother." Moshi uttered.

Sirus nodded. "Yes. He is an incredible leader, and a brilliant tactician."

He looked down. "Unfortunatly, there seems to be something that runs down the family line. As much of a brilliant leader that Lukas is, he has also earned a reputation for underhanded tactics. I saw him lure soldiers in under a white flag, and then slaughter them like cattle. And all the times he's been using these tactics, Lukas has made sure that not a shred of evidence to convict him."

"And those that did speak up were either framed and court marshalled, or they had an unfortunate 'accident'." said Sirus.

"One day, Lukas saved my life by pulling me out of the way of a large barrage of shrapnel. And for that, I told him that I owed him my life."

Sirus sighed. "Little did I know that the Serrac family takes things a little too seriously."

"Eight years ago, I was posted as a guard for an amored transport carrying a few high ranking officers. One night, the transport was struck by enemy fire. The transport was decimated and everyone in or around the transport was dead. Or near death."

"The transport was salvaged by Captain Serrac, and along with it, my body. He took up on my recent vow and took me underground to a secret labratory. Officially, I was killed in the first explosion of the attack, and my remains were given the space burial. Unofficially, I had my body rebuilt and the sentient programming hardwired into my nervous system. From then on, I was put into the service of Officer Serrac as a combat robot, labor robot, and a bodyguard."

There was a bit of a silence.

"I'm sorry, Sirus." said Moshi.

Sirus stood straight up. "I haven't been able to speak like this in years, Moshi. It would be best not to waste the time with apologies." he said.

"However, I've been overtaking the circutry for the past few minutes and that allowed me to talk to you." said Sirus. "And unfortunatly, my time is up."

Sirus began to twitch. "Let us battle now, Moshi. Free me from my prison!"

Within seconds, Sirus snapped straight and crouched down into a stance.

Moshi crouched down as well.

After a few seconds of staring, the two sprung from their stances and leapt towards each other.

* * *

Mizuho's console was closed as she and Kei sat on the sofa.

They had their hands locked together, and Mizuho was rubbing her head against his arms.

"I'm sorry, Kei." Mizuho said.

Kei looked down. "For what?"

Mizuho looked up at him. "I never wanted something like this to happen."

She went back to rubbing his arms.

"I didn't think that someone would actually come looking for me."

Kei shook his head and smiled. "There's no need to apologize, Mizuho." Kei replied.

Mizuho stopped rubbing his arms and looked back up, confused.

"It's technically Moshi's fault. He said it himself." said Kei.

The two laughed a bit. After they stopped, the two looked into each other's eyes.

"And I wouldn't want to trade this experience for the world. Ever since this started, we've been growing closer."

The two smiled at each other and leaned to kiss each other.

After a bit, they pulled away from the kiss.

"So, we should be getting a call from Mother soon. After she gives us the green light, we'll be able to get to my ship and then form a plan."

Kei nodded. "We'll both be safe for a while."

"Speaking of safe..."

He turned his head towards the winodw.

"I wonder how Moshi's doing." he said as Mizuho turned her head as well.

* * *

Moshi and Sirus leapt towards each other and met in mid-air.

Moshi slid through Sirus's grip and slammed his head into the cyborg's chest.

Sirus was sent flying back into the bushes as Moshi fell straight to the ground.

The two sprung up.

Moshi shook his head.

"Gah."

Sirus dashed forward again, and threw a series of punches towards Moshi's torso, who managed to dodge each attack.

Moshi did a backflip and successfully kicked Sirus in the head, sending him flying back.

Sirus fell onto his back and quickly sprung up. His head rattled a bit as he moved around, but he turned his head from side to side and reset it.

Moshi had landed on his feet and didn't waste any time. He rushed forward again, letting loose another barrage of kicks and punches.

Sirus put up a series of blocks, negating the onslaught, and came back with attacks of his own, which Moshi promptly dodged as well.

The two spun around and aimed a kick at each other. Instead, their foots struck, and they both skidded back.

Both recovered however, and they rushed at each other again.

Sirus fired off a series of kicks, to which were dodged, and as Sirus recovered, Moshi struck Sirus in the chest with dual palm strikes, causing Sirus to stumble back.

Moshi rushed forward and jumped up and kicked Sirus in the head, rattling his head. Moshi then spun 360 degrees, firing off two more powerful kicks, both hitting Sirus in the head.

The second kick knocked Sirus's head to an odd angle. The third kick knocked Sirus's head completely off.

Sirus fell back again, this time slowly getting up.

Moshi rushed over and kicked Sirus's head up, and kicked it from foot to foot, much like a hackey sack.

Sirus's body began to move towards Moshi.

Moshi flung the head at Sirus with his foot, and it hit him in the chest. The head flew straight back from the force. Moshi caught it and flung it back, striking Sirus again.

The head bounced back again, and Moshi struck it with his forearm, striking the cyborg again. The head bounced back again, to which Moshi jumped up and kicked it, sending it to hit Sirus again.

The head flew back with great speed. Moshi fell back to dodge the head, and it bounced back off of the nearby tree. Sirus caught the head as it flew at him.

Moshi kicked his legs and launched himself feet first. Sirus was struck in the bed with a dropkick and flew back again.

After the attacks from Sirus's own head and Moshi's kick, Sirus's torso was covered in large dents.

Moshi landed on his feet as Sirus slammed his head back on his shoulders.

Sirus struggled back up, twisted his head back on straight.

Moshi rushed forward again. Sirus was ready and struck Moshi a few times with a series of punches.

Moshi jumped back a bit to regain himself, to which Sirus rushed again. Sirus landed a few more hits on Moshi and caused hims to skid back from the force.

Sirus rushed again, but Moshi sidestepped the charge and nailed Sirus in the back with a kick that sent him forward.

Sirus stumbled a little more before jumping back up. He turned, but Moshi was nowhere in sight.

The cyborg's head chirped a bit as his vision was switched.

He scanned the area, searching for any chase of Moshi. But he failed to find anything.

"This is utterly impossible." Sirus uttered. Then he gasped and tried to move, but it was too late.

Moshi leapt from a tree branch and landed on Sirus's back, causing him to fall flat on his face. Moshi stood with the cyborg under his feet and pulled a combat knife from under the back of his shirt.

After spinning the knife in his hand, Moshi brought it down, thrusting the blade into Sirus's upper back and leapt off.

Sirus began to convulse a bit before slowly getting back up.

(Thought) My damage is too severe...

With everything he had, Sirus stood up and sprinted off, crashing through the woods.

Moshi calmed down a bit and looked down at a few bruises he had. Then he looked up to the path Sirus had cut.

"You got it, Sirus. You've been like that long enough."

Without giving it another thought, Moshi dashed after Sirus.

* * *

Melani winced a bit as she staggered through her ship.

She walked into the med bay and sat down on one of the tables, setting the disc against the wall.

The machinery around her began to move, and after a few minutes, Melani stood up, her injuries completely healed.

She smiled. "Now to install the disc."

Melani began to walk through the ship. Then, there was a beeping.

Melani stopped and looked up. "On speaker."

"Officer Serrac." came Sirus's voice.

"Report." barked Melani.

"I've suffered extensive damage to my chassis and a few of my primary systems. Because of his last attack, I'm only able to operate at a 44 capacity without further damaging myself. I'm currently retreating to a small mountain here where I can try to repair myself. I'm hoping that by then, I'll be able to effectivly take out Moshi."

Melani kept walking. "What about Moshi?"

"He's sustained little damage and I believe that he's in pursuit of me. He has displayed inhuman strength, endurance, and agility, something which wasn't in our records. By my calculations, it seems that at his current state, you may not be able to defeat him, even with combat inhibitors."

Melani growled. "I should've known. Is he a fugitive race of some kind?"

"My scanners tell me that Moshi is indeed human, but that may not be reliable, as he has been able to fool my systems."

Melani entered the engine room, where there was a disc shaped gap missing near the engine.

"Would it be in our powers to contain and capture him?" Melani asked.

"With our resources, and with Moshi's current abilities, I'd have to say our chances or incredibly low."

Melani growled as she went over to the gap and placed the disc in.

She knelt down. "Then we've got no choice. I'm authorizing you to use everythin in your arsenal."

Melani stood up and began to leave the room. "We can't let Moshi run rampant like this. Take him out."


	15. Chapter 14: Three Seconds

Disclaimer: 

Please Teacher is not my property. It belongs to Bandai or Please.

("I") Denotes dialogue

(_"I"_) Denotes thought

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 14: Three Seconds

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Moshi crept through the trees, wary of any traps or ambushes.

His eyes scanned the various brush.

_This could be bad._

Moshi changed his course to dodge a pitfall disguised with branches and leaves.

He hopped up and gripped onto a tree branch. Moshi swung up and was soon standing on a sturdy limb.

He squatted down and surveyed the area.

_It's like walking through a mine field. This must mean he's close._

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sirus stood in thick brush as his body chirped lightly.

_This is bad. That knife in my back is hindering my repair module. I'd remove it if I could reach it..._

Sirus grunted a bit as he tried to reach the knife in his back. After a second or two of struggling, he sighed and gave up.

He turned around.

_At best, I'll be brought back up to 75 efficiency. But with permission to use my weapons, I should stand a better chance._

He looked up, scanning the place.

Then, he froze.

_Should I be glad that he's not on my scanner, or worried that I can't see him?_

Not wanting to take any chances, Sirus turned and began to bolt, stopping his repairs.

He dashed through the trees, not looking back.

_He made it through my traps. Damn. That might've slowed him down, but once he gets out, I won't have much time left._

Sirus kept running, seeing the trees begin to thin out.

After a few more seconds of running, he made it to the base of the mountains. Large boulders littered the site.

Sirus darted through the boulders and hid behind a rather large one.

He stood straight and his body began to chirp.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Mizuho's console beeped.

"That must be mother trying to call." said Mizuho.

Kei looked over. "What do you think she wants?"

Mizuho shrugged. "I'm really not sure. Maybe she found a way to get around Melani's jamming device."

She walked over to the console and opened it up, and a screen popped up.

There was a message:

Mizuho,

The comet circles the system once.

Maho

Kei raised an eyebrow.

"What the heck is that?" said Kei.

Mizuho smiled. "It's a code. She wasn't sure if Melani was watching, so she sent me a message in code."

Kei nodded.

"Get your shoes on. They want to meet us."

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Moshi swung from a tree branch and landed out near the base of the mountain.

He slowly walked through the boulders that littered the site.

Moshi peered around boulders, and then continued walking, following the footprints that lay in the dirt.

He finally reached the largest boulder, and the footprints ended behind it.

Moshi leapt on top of the rock and looked down.

But there was nothing there.

Out of the corner of his eye, Moshi caught a shadow and jumped off of the rock.

As he did, Sirus brought his fist down to where Moshi had been standing, cracking the rock, and causing it to fall into pieces.

Moshi stood with his back facing another boulder. He put his hands in his pockets and looked up at Sirus, who stood on the pile of the shattered boulder.

"I find it surprising that you take something like this lightly."

Moshi shrugged. "I'm no stranger to death."

Sirus lifted up his arm and put it forward.

The arm whirred and after a few seconds, the arm readjusted and a blade about a foot long extended.

He raised his arm and looked at Moshi again.

"This ends here, Moshi." said Sirus.

Moshi smiled. "Yea. I already knew that."

Sirus crouched down and leapt towards Moshi.

Moshi merely grinned and fell into a fighting stance.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Mizuho and Kei sat in the bushes near a deserted park.

"Are you sure this is where they said to meet you?" Kei asked, whispering.

Mizuho nodded. "Positive."

Kei surveyed the area. "Seem's like an odd place to meet. A wide open space."

"Hard to say." said Mizuho. "But mother wouldn't ask to do something like this unless it was something of the highest priority."

She turned to Kei. "Whatever she brought us her for, it'll be worth it."

There was silence for a few minutes. Then, Mizuho caught something in the bushes.

"There." she whispered, pointing towards what she saw.

Kei peered through the brush and squinted until he finally saw what Mizuho had.

It was Maho, and she was waving.

Mizuho nodded. She gripped ahold of Kei's hand and pulled him into the bushes.

"Let's go."

The two made their way over, rustling the branches a little as they went, until they finally arrived at the spot where Maho had been.

However, she wasn't anywhere to be seen.

Mizuho put on a puzzled look.

"Wha..."

"Over here!" she heard.

Kei and Mizuho jerked their heads towards the voice. There, they saw Hatsuho and Maho huddled in a clearing.

"Ah." said Kei.

Mizuho and Kei got out from the bushes into the clearing, and hustled over to Maho and Hatsuho.

"Hey, you two." said Hatsuho, giving a hug to Mizuho.

Kei merely waved and smiled.

"So, mother," said Mizuho. "What's this about?"

Hatsuho smiled. "Melani made a mistake." She began to rummage through her pockets.

"What's that mean?" Kei asked.

"It means that we know where she is." said Maho.

Mizuho smiled. "Excellent."

"I've already begun some defense measures." Hatsuho said, holding out a disk that she pulled out of her pocket.

Kei scratched his head. Mizuho looked over.

"Now that we know where Melani's ship is, we can start attacking her systems." she said.

"I see." said Kei.

"How did this happen?" Mizuho asked, looking towards Hatsuho.

Hatsuho smiled. "A bit ago, we detected some unusual activity a few miles out of town. We took another look and identified it as Melani's craft."

"What caused it?" said Kei.

Maho shrugged. "We're not sure."

Mizuho crossed her arms and looked up. "Hmmm..."

"Mizuho, we've gotta get back to our ship." said Hatsuho.

Mizuho broke from her stare and looked at Hatsuho. "Yes, I understand."

Mah looked over at Kei. "You better be careful, and take care of Mizuho, okay?"

Kei nodded. "I will, Maho."

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The boulders were littered with deep slashes

Sirus stood at the center of the area, motionless.

"You can't dodge me forever, Moshi." he bellowed.

"I've done a pretty good job of it so far, though."

Moshi was leaning against the back of a rock, arms crossed and out of sight.

He shrugged. "I really don't like the thought of being slashed to pieces, Sirus."

"I'll do whatever it takes to accomplish my mission."

Sirus laughed.

"I will say though that this is the first time a simple human has managed to stand this long in combat. I comend you for that, Moshi. My reputation as a warrior has been tarnished."

Moshi smiled. "Between you me and the rocks,"

He turned his head. "And Melani, 'cause she's probably listening too,"

He looked up. "It would be a big mistake to call me simple."

"And I think it's a little unfair of you to bash yourself. If you knew more about me, you'd probably reconsider the comment on your reputation."

"Want to tell me why?" Sirus replied.

"Not in the amount of time you have left."

Moshi hopped up and spun around, landing on the rock, facing Sirus.

"Like I said, Sirus, it would be a big mistake to call me simple."

He sighed. "And unfortunatly, I've got other things to be doing."

Moshi and Sirus leapt at each other at the same time, colliding in mid-air. Sirus stuck Moshi with his fist and thought he had the upper ground, but a sudden jerk made he realize that Moshi had wrapped his legs around his torso.

As Moshi flipped in the air, Sirus did as well. Moshi then released Sirus and sent him spiraling towards the ground. Sirus righted himself in his fall and landed on his knees. He tried to spring up, but Moshi flew down and stomped Sirus into the ground.

Moshi leapt off of Sirus and was gone from sight.

Sirus got up and started to look around, turning as he did.

"I don't know what's in your head, Moshi, but you're not going to get past this point."

"That's what you think!"

Sirus turned, and stumbled back a bit as Moshi slashed upward with his knife, making a cut in his torso.

Sirus stopped at a boulder behind him. No sooner had he stopped moving, Moshi rushed in and attacked again.

This time, Moshi slashed at Sirus's arm, and completely severed it from his shoulder. As it fell, Moshi caught it.

Sirus tried to strike at Moshi with his other arm, but Moshi ducked and spun. As he came out of his spin, Moshi slashed at Sirus with his own armblade, and completely severed his leg.

Moshi jumped back as Sirus slid down the side of the boulder. Moshi reached into his pocket and pulled out the bottle with the red "X" on it. He pitched the bottle Sirus, and it hit him, shattered, and splattered a hissing liquid on his upper body.

Sirus began to convulse a bit before slumping. The liquid began to eat away at his body. His head sagged down.

"What...was that?" Sirus said.

Moshi put away his knife and tossed Sirus's arm to the side. "It's an acid compound a friend of mine taught me how to make. It can eat through most metals, but it has other uses. That was one of my ingrediants to the decoy."

"I see..." said Sirus. "My systems are dying off. You were smart to get the acid under my plating.

Moshi shrugged and then put his hands into his pockets. "I'm sorry, Sirus."

Sirus gave a laugh. "What are you apologizing for? You've done me a favor, Moshi. My death will release me from the service of the Serracs, and I can finally rest in peace."

He struggled a bit, but Sirus lifted his head up. "And as one warrior to another, I thank you."

Moshi smiled. "It was the least I could do, Sirus. I could see the torment that you had. Your own body taken over, people hardwiring your organs into an inhuman shell."

He shook his head. "I've seen a lot worse, but still..."

"Another time, another place..." said Sirus. "We could've been comrades."

"Maybe." said Moshi.

Sirus groaned. "Moshi, there's something you should know."

Moshi tilted his head.

"The acid compound has completely destroyed 85 of my systems, and unfortunatly, one of those has been a containment field."

"A containment field? For what?"

"When I was first built, Captain Serrac said he had built a 'countermeasure' into my body. Melani later told me that it was an unstable warhead that was held in by a containment field. In order to keep the secrets of our military, when my body stopped functioning, the warhead would activate, and completely destroy me, leaving nothing behind."

Sirus struggled again.

"And I still have to complete my objective."

Sirus looked back up at Moshi. "I'm sorry, Moshi, but you've only got three seconds."

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Kei looked over at Mizuho as they walked back home.

"What's on your mind?" he said.

Mizuho looked up to Kei. "Oh, I was just thinking about what would've caused Melani's ship to act like that. She's smart enough to know not to be seen. But, if I remember correctly, she had very little finesse when it came to ships."

Mizuho stopped walking, as did Kei. There was a bit of silence as Mizuho stood in deep thought.

Then, her eyes widened. "She has the disk!"

She turned to Kei. "She found it!"

"What does that mean?" said Kei.

"When you reinstall the system disc into your engine, the ship has to warm up a bit to make sure everything is in check. With that little act, mother could track down Melani."

"So, what does that mean?" asked Kei.

"We've got to get back home, now."

Not wasting any time, Mizuho and Kei dashed down the road.

After running a bit the two made it back to the apartment.

Mizuho sat down and opened up her console, typing furiously.

Hatsuho's face appeared on the screen. "I know." she said. "I just figured it out too."

"Do you know where Moshi is?"

"Hold on." said Hatsuho. She looked off-screen and then turned back to Mizuho. "He's near the base of the mountains. I'm picking Sirus up too, but neither of them are moving."

Kei looked out the window. "Geez, I hope-"

But Kei wasn't able to finish that sentence.

As Kei looked out, a huge explosion erupted from the base of the mountains. Mizuho bolted towards the window.

Both Kei and Mizuho watched in horror as the explosion caused a rockslide, burying the source of the explosion.

"Oh, god..." came Hatsuho's voice.

Mizuho and Kei just stood and watched the dust kick up.

"Mizuho, Kei..." said Hatsuho. "I'm not picking up Moshi, or Sirus."

"I'm sorry."


	16. Chapter 15: Broken Watch

Disclaimer: 

Please Teacher is not my property. It belongs to Bandai or Please.

("I") Denotes dialogue

(_"I"_) Denotes thought

* * *

Chapter 15: Broken Watch

* * *

Mizuho and Kei stood in silence, a look of sheer horror painted on their faces.

"No..." Mizuho gasped, her hand near her mouth.

There was dead silence as the crumbling stopped and the dust began to settle.

Tears began to trickle down Mizuho's cheeks and she was softly crying. Kei heard his wife and walked over to her.

The two embraced tightly and Mizuho rested her head on Kei's shoulder, which became damp from Mizuho's tears.

Kei gritted his teeth and he began to shed tears. But, after a few seconds, he swallowed a large lump in his throat, and held back his tears.

_Oh god...I've got to be strong..._

The two stood near the window in the shadows, with the only sound being Mizuho's soft crying.

Then, there was static on Mizuho's console. A voice faded in and out before it finally became clear.

"Hello? Heelllooo?" chimed the voice.

Mizuho and Kei both glared at the console.

The two broke their embrace and walked over to the screen to see the smiling face of Melani. Her smile spread wider as she saw Mizuho and Kei step into view.

"Well, well," she said. "I wonder what could've gotten you two so upset?"

Melani tilted her head and began to stroke her chin.

"Now, what could've brought a sweet couple like you to tears?"

The emotions in the atmosphere had gone from sorrow to rage. Kei's hands clenched into fists as he kept his stare on Melani.

"You..." he growled.

Mizuho looked over. "Kei, no."

Kei remained silent. Mizuho wiped her tears and looked back at Melani.

"What do you want?" she said.

Melani just smiled. "Oh, nothing much." she replied. "Your surrender. You really don't have much in the way of defending yourself. With, you know, Moshi dead and all..."

"How can you be so casual!?!" yelled Kei.

Mizuho's eyes widened. "Kei!"

"You just killed someone! How can you be smiling!?!"

Melani just shrugged. "I didn't like him in the first place. You should blame Moshi for this whole situation anyway. If he had given me my part, he wouldn'tve died."

She coughed. Mizuho remained silent, just looking over at Melani. "And not to split hairs or anything, but I didn't kill Moshi. Technically, it was Sirus who killed him."

"So it's true." said Mizuho. "What Sirus had inside him."

Mizuho looked over to Melani on the screen. "A warhead. Your brother wired a weapon into a person."

"For the sake of protecting our technology."

"For the sake of protection yourselves and your cause" retorted Mizuho. "You have no regard for life of any sort."

Melani was about to speak when Mizuho reached up.

"I'm done with this, Melani." she said as she turned off her console.

Kei gave a deep sight and unclenched his fists. Mizuho looked down. She took off her glasses and rubbed her eyes, sighing as well.

"So, what are we gonna do?" said Kei.

Mizuho shook her head. "I don't know." she replied. "We outnumber Melani, but she's got plenty of weapons. And on top of that, I can't teleport to my ship because I'm worried about what Melani is doing."

Her console beeped. Mizuho looked over, pausing. She slowly opened it, then gave a sigh of relief.

"What is it?" Kei asked, peering to the screen.

Mizuho read the message. "It's from mother. Turn on the news."

Kei grabbed the remote and flipped on the television. After flipping through a few channels, a news report came up.

"...and it is unknown to the cause of the event. It appears that nobody was injured in the rockslide, and there was minimal damage to the surroundings. However, the nearby natural rock formations have been shifted."

Kei shook his head. Mizuho looked over to Kei. "Are you all right?"

"She has to pay for this, Mizuho." he replied. He looked back up at the news report. "I don't know how, but she has to pay."

Mizuho nodded. She stood up and rubbed Kei's back. Then, she took him by the hand. "Come on, Kei."

"Where are we going?"

"We're going to meet with mother. She might have a plan."

* * *

Hatsuho and Maho stood in a park. Hatsuho was tapping her foot with her arms crossed.

Maho looked up towards her mother. "What's wrong?"

"I don't like it, Maho. Something's been bothering me about Melani's ship."

She looked at Maho. "Melani may be dirty, but she's not stupid enough to reveal herself, even by accident."

Maho shook her head. "What are you saying?"

Hatsuho was about to speak, but was interupted by footsteps. The two looked over to see both Mizuho and Kei walking towards them.

Hatsuho walked over to both of them and stood in front of them.

"Are you two all right?" she asked.

They stopped in front of her, silent."

"Oh..."

Hatsuho walked forward and hugged both of them at once.

"I know." she said.

The three broke their hug and Maho joined the circle.

"So, mother, what are we going to do?" said Mizuho.

Hatsuho paused. "I'm not sure. I've got some equipment your father gave me a long time ago, but it really isn't up to snuff with the stuff that Melani probably has."

"I figured as much." replied Mizuho. "But whatever you've got, we can use."

Hatsuho nodded. "I'll show you what I've got. Never thought I'd have to use this stuff."

"And I never thought that the Serracs were that low."

Everyone looked at Maho.

"Well, it's true." replied Maho.

* * *

Melani stood before the armory locker within her ship, looking at her equipment.

She smiled as she reached in and pulled out a combat suit, comprised of thin metal plating on the arms legs and chest.

"This is going to be like taking candy from a baby." she said, smiling.

Melani began to strap the suit to her body, then looked up.

"Marsha, I need you to lock on to the positions of Mizuho Kazami and Kei Kusanagi."

She finished putting on her suit and grabbed a baton from the locker.

"But don't bring them here. I just need to know their position."

Melani closed her locker and then made her way up to the bridge of her ship.

She looked on a screen, which displayed a map of some sort. Melani laughed.

"What are those idiots trying to do?"

She looked up.

"Marsha, take me out."

* * *

"So, that's the plan." said Kei.

Mizuho and Hatsuho nodded.

The three were standing on the bridge of Hatsuho's ship. Kei was in causal clothing while Mizuho and Hatsuho were changed into their skin suits.

Hatsuho cleared her throat. "With all three of us going at the same time, we'll have a chance."

She tapped her neck with one hand. "Try and hit her in the neck. That's the most effective tactic here."

"Once we subdue Melani, we can go from there." said Mizuho. "It won't be easy though."

Hatsuho looked over to Kei. "You all right with this, Kei?"

"Yea." said Kei. "I can do this."

Hatsuho smiled. "That's my Kei."

"Mother..." Mizuho muttered.

"Maho! Make sure to guard the ship!"

"Yes, mother!"

Hatsuho looked over at Kei and Mizuho.

Mizuho and Kei looked at each other. Kei smiled.

"For us." said Mizuho.

Kei nodded. "For Moshi."

Hatsuho laughed. "For everyone. Let's just get this over with!"

"Melani, you're going down." said Hatsuho.

The three were enveloped in light.

* * *

Kei, Mizuho, and Hatsuho ducked down in the brush of the woodlands.

They crept through the woods until they came to a very large clearing.

The three peered out of the cover and surveyed the area. At the other edge of the clearing was Melani's spacecraft, its landing gear planted in the ground.

"All right." said Mizuho. "Let's go."

The three walked out of the bushes, keeping low. They made their way towards the ship.

"Going somewhere?"

They slowed to a halt, stood straight, and turned around to see Melani standing a few feet away, smiling.

"A full on assault?" she said, laughing. "What are you doing? Asking to be captured?"

Melani threw a punch aimed for Kei, putting all her strength into it.

However, she fell passed through Kei's body and fell forward from the force of her attack.

"Holograms!"

She immediatly scrambled back up as Hatsuho, Mitsuho, and Kei turned around to face her.

Melani was about to speak, but paused. Then her eyes widened.

"Oh, crap!"

Melani spun around and was hit in the neck with a baton. She fell to the ground and started coughing. Hatsuho stood over Melani, holding the baton.

"What the hell!?!" screamed Melani.

Hatsuho winced a bit. "That's not good."

"Mother! Do you even know how to use that thing?" said Mizuho, running out from the bushes. Kei was running close behind her.

Hatsuho paused as Melani groaned on the ground. "Err...no."

Melani scrambled back to her feet, passing through the holograms on her way up. She stared at Hatsuho and growled.

She threw her hand forward and struck Hatsuho in the mid-section. A blot of electricity coursed from her hand and sent Hatsuho flying back. She hit the ground and skidded a few feet more before stopping. She groaned and began to stand back up before Melani began walking towards her.

Mizuho and Kei shot cans of mace at Melani, but she sidestepped the two streams. Melani then started walking towards Mizuho and Kei. Mizuho took a swing at her with a baton, but Melani held up her arm to block. The baton sparked and Melani drew back her arm and gritted her teeth.

Kei wound up to take a swing but was backhanded by Melani. Kei fell to the ground as Mizuho came at Melani again. Melani shot her arm out and grabbed Mizuho by the throat.

"Got one!" yelled Melani.

Kei stood back up and reached into his pocket. But as he did, Melani wrapped her hand around his throat. Kei gasped for air and fought at Melani's grip, but to no avail.

"Marsha! Bring us on and warm up the ship!"

Hatsuho rushed towards Melani, but was too late as Melani, Kei, and Mizuho were enveloped in light. Hatsuho took a swing with her baton into the light, but hit thin air.

When the light subsided, Hatsuho was the only one standing.

"No..."

Hatsuho looked back towards the ship.

* * *

Melani threw Kei and Mizuho across the bridge of her ship, both of them slamming against a wall and slumping down. Melani laughed and began to type on a console, the humming of the ship in the background.

"Told you to give up when you had the chance." she said.

Mizuho crawled over to Kei and the two huddled close. Melani looked over towards the two.

"And now look at you."

Melani laughed and went back to typing on the console.

Mizuho glared at Melani. "You're not getting away with this, Melani."

"Yea, like I haven't heard that. Say what you want, in a few minutes it's not gonna mat-"

The console began to short circut and Melani stepped back.

"What?"

The humming of the ship got faster and raised to a higher pitch.

Mizuho dove over Kei's body as sparks began to fly from every part of the ship. Melani yelled as the lights went out and the humming stopped.

Kei felt Mizuho pull away from him, and he heard her whisper. "Are you all right?"

"Yea." replied Kei.

After a few seconds, dim red lights came on, illuminating Kei and Mizuho.

There were footsteps from the dark, and Melani stepped into view from the shadows.

Melani glared at the two.

"Well?"

Kei paused. "Well what?"

"Where is it!?!" yelled Melani.

"Where is what?" said Mizuho.

Melani clenched her fists. "The system disc!"

Mizuho opened her mouth but words failed to emit from it.

Kei's eyes widened. "Wha?"

Melani screamed. "This one's a fake!"


	17. Chapter 16: Standing Still

Disclaimer:

Please Teacher is not my property. It belongs to Bandai or Please.

("I") Denotes dialogue

(_"I"_) Denotes thought

* * *

Chapter 17: Standing Still

* * *

Mizuho and Kei were at a loss for words. Melani stared at them, wild-eyed and frustrated, trying to make sense of the situation. However, no matter how hard she stared, Kei and Mizuho's confused expressions did not change.

Melani spun around and kicked a panel of the wall, denting it a great deal. She yelled in frustration and dug her hands into her hair. "Damn you, Moshi!"

As Melani wallowed in her anger, Mizuho felt a metallic object in her hand, which she quickly hid behind her back.

_A flash grenade…_

She looked at Kei, who nodded at her. He looked back at Melani, and Mizuho followed suit. Melani turned back, her hair slightly tangled from having yanked it in her hissy fit. She approached the couple again, hunched over with he wild eyed stare again.

"That's fine…. I'll just make the repairs myself. We'll be here a little longer than planned….." she said, trailing off. Melani immediately straightened up and tried to untangle her hair. "But, hey, think of it like this. A least you two will get a little more alone time with each other before being torn apart forever."

Melani began to chuckle. Mizuho put on a serious face and squeezed Kei's hand. Without a word, she hurled the grenade at Melani's feet. Melani looked down non-chalantly, and was about to curse out loud as she realized what the grenade was. However, she wasn't given that chance.

Moments later, Melani rolled on the ground, screaming at the top of her lungs and clutching at her eyes. She sat up and blinked, everything still white and blurry. Frustrated, she tried to stand up but immediately fell back down. "Ahhh!!!!" she yelled.

* * *

Mizuho ran out of the docking bay of Melani's ship, gripping hold of Kei's outstretched hand.

"Come on, Kei! We're almost there!" Mizuho called out, a smile on her face. She looked back as Kei stumbled and fell to the ground. Not hesitating, Mizuho picked up her fallen husband in her arms and turned back towards the light of the outside.

Kei looked up at Mizuho. "Mizuho….. I'm sorry." He said. Mizuho stepped out on to grass and looked down at Kei. "There's nothing to worry about, Kei." She replied, leaning down and kissing him on the forehead. Kei's vision went a little blurry. He wasn't sure if he was crying or if it was something else.

Mizuho looked around after taking a few steps. "Where's Mother…." She pondered.

"There you are!"

Mizuho turned around to see Melani rushing blindly at Mizuho. Melani swung her fist at Mizuho, but her attack went wide, and instead, slammed into Mizuho with her body. Mizuho gripped on to Kei as she skidded back and fell to her knees. Melani blinked, her vision returning.

"Heh, I thought so." Melani said, a smirk on her face. She advanded towards the kneeling Mizuho and shook her head. "I guess we found out who wore the pants in this relationship."

Melani reached for Kei, who's eyes were beginning to flutter. Mizuho smacked away Melani's advancing hand and glared at her. "Leave him alone!" she yelled, clutching her beloved tighter in her arms.

Melani nodded at Kei. "Seems like something's wrong here." She said. Mizuho looked down at Kei. Kei's stare had become blank. Mizuho's eyes widened in horror.

"No! Kei!!!" she screamed. Kei could barely hear her voice, and the view of her was becoming fuzzy.

_No…Not now…_

Mizuho felt Melani's foot connect with the side of her head and flew to the side, dropping Kei from her arms. Mizuho, blood now trickling from her lip scrambled on all fours and reached for Kei, only to get kicked in the head a second time. Mizuho fell prone, sobbing slightly.

Melani reached down and picked Kei up by the neck with seemingly little effort. She looked over Kei and shrugged. "I don't get it, Mizuho." She said. Melani turned and looked at Mizuho, who was slowly recovering. "How could you fall in love with this man? He can't even take care of himself!"

Kei tried to speak but Melani shook him vigorously. "See? He isn't even trying to fight back." She said. "What kind of a man is he if he can't even stand up to try and defend his 'loved' one?"

Melani turned to face Kei again. "Not that it matters."

For the past minute or two, Kei had been fighting to stay in with this reality. Fighting against his own body, which was trying to shut down. The voices of Mizuho and Melani were being drowned out and he could barely understand anything they said.

_Not another one… But… it's been so…_

Mizuho reached up for Kei, only to have Melani push her foot onto Mizuho's head and push her back.

Mizuho tried to crawl back. "Kei…. No…. Don't…"

Melani looked down and laughed. "It's over, Mizuho. I'm going to sever the only link you have to this planet." She said, looking back at Kei. Melani slowly drew back her fist. "I'm going to take the only thing you have left."

Kei could make out Melani's fist, and tried to make his body do something. Anything. Mizuho's scream seemed silent as Melani drove her fist directly into Kei's chest. Kei's body flew back and struck the ground, rolling somewhat before stopping on his belly. Kei could see his wife, tears in her eyes, yelling something, screaming at the top of her lungs.

But he couldn't hear anything. It was as though Melani had stolen every bit of life from him with her last punch. He couldn't move, he couldn't blink, he couldn't breathe, he couldn't think. His vision went blurry as he saw Mizuho get grabbed again.

Then, it all went black.

* * *

He felt the blades of grass brushing against his face. The wind kissing his skin. The warmth of sunlight washing over his body. Kei sat up and his eyes bolted open. He looked around, bewildered. He wasn't in the forest. Rather, he was in an endless field of tall grass, with a light wind blowing and the sun shining overhead.

Kei stood up immediately, looking for any sign of Mizuho. He ran as fast as he could through the field, but the scenery didn't change, and his wife was no where present.

He fell to his knees and looked up at the sun. "MIZUHO!!!" he screamed. His voice rang out through the field and went silent. Only the wind and rustling grass could be heard.

Kei slumped down, tears beginning to run down his cheeks. "No…." he muttered. "At a time like this. I can't be here…."

He then felt a warmth spread from his shoulder. Kei looked over and saw a taped hand softly gripping his shoulder.

"At least we can agree on that."

Kei looked behind him and saw the grinning face of Moshi.

"Moshi!" exclaimed Kei, wiping his tears away. Moshi pulled his hand away and offered it to Kei, who took hold and was helped to his feet.

Kei paused. "Wait a minute…" he said. "If you're here, does that mean I'm-"

"Dead?" Moshi interrupted. "Nah. You're about as healthy as….. er…" Moshi reached up and rubbed the back of his neck. "Well… you know."

Kei paused. "So…where are we?" he asked, looking around. Moshi shook his head. "In your head, I guess. You did go into a standstill, after all."

Kei spun around and stared at Moshi. "Wait….. how do you…"

"At this point in the relationship, Kei, if you still don't think I know more than I let on, you're a bit of a naïve fellow." Moshi replied, chuckling. "I've just known. But that's not the issue here, Kei. Mizuho's in danger."

Kei sighed. "What can I do?" he said, slumping down a bit. Moshi stamped his foot into the ground and pointed at Kei with his taped hand. "Well, first of all, you're gonna straighten up!" he said, a stern look in his face.

"You're gonna break out of the standstill, and I'm going to help you do it."


End file.
